Falla El sombrero de tres picos—complete ballet. El amor brujo—Ritual Fire Dance. Frederica von Stade (mez) Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra / Andre Previn.

Philips digital (Full price) (LP) 6514 281 (Cassette) 7337 281.

A modern digital recording, even by Philips standards unusually refined and beautifully balanced, brings out beauties in Falla's scoring in this his masterpiece that one might not suspect. What this new version reveals far more than the others listed is a chamber-like quality in the detail and precision of the evocative writing. I would not want that remark to imply that Previn's reading lacks anything in punch, far from it, but Fruhbeck de Burgos on HMV in particular and Ansermet on Contour Classics too (the original interpreter at the ballet's premiere in London in 1919) bring out earthier qualities, where until the glorious outburst of the "Final Dance", the Jota of triumph at the worsting of the malevolent Alcalde, the detail and fine separation of the Previn version have one relating the performance to earlier Stravinsky and Ravel ballets on the one hand, to neo-classic models on the other, a movement which Falla himself was about to join. The ear is ravished by the textures, while Previn's characteristic emphasis on rhythmic qualities gives sharpness of focus on another parameter.

The Fruhbeck version in particular is more idiomatically Spanish, and the sound still emerges amazingly rich and full even though it dates from the mid-sixties. With Victoria de los Angeles ever seductive in the small vocal part it remains a classic reading, warmly enjoyable. But if you want the finest modern sound, then the Previn version stands alone, for though the Mata 1977 RCA disc of this ballet and the complete El amor brujo makes an exceptionally generous coupling, it was achieved at the expense of the sound, thinner and less clear than the Fruhbeck/HMV, let alone the new Previn. The very opening of the Previn brings the lovely voice of Frederica von Stade very close indeed, as though she is introducing the ballet from near at hand, where all the other versions present the voice at a distance, part of the instant evocation of Spanish atmosphere. And though Previn's recording is so refined, the timpani ostinato accompanying the trumpet fanfare at the start sounds boomy compared with Fruhbeck's, where—I assume, with harder drumsticks—the sound bites more. Previn earlier recorded the three most popular movements for EMI (HMV ASD3338, 5/77—nla), and though the interpretation has changed little—with fine swagger and slightly slower speeds than usual in the "Final Dance"—the LSO performance was a degree warmer, the Pittsburgh one equally intense is crisper and more refined. The fill-up of the "Ritual Fire Dance" is not generous, but provides an attractive makeweight.

EG