Solstice, a ballet lasting a scant half hour, is one of Lou Harrison’s most beautiful creations, a masterpiece of enchanting sonorities achieved by the most economical of means. It’s scored for an octet consisting of flute, oboe, trumpet, two cellos, bass, tack piano, and celesta. This, the work’s only complete recording, is absolutely perfect in every respect. The playing is superb: the balances allow every Eastern-tinged musical strand to glow, and conductor Dennis Russell Davies’ tempos are right on. He recorded a suite (in a work this short, what’s the point?) for Argo, but this complete version is audibly superior. Originally released on Musicmasters (along with Ariadne), I can’t recommend this piece highly enough.
Making this disc even more appealing, the couplings are plainly more interesting than the Musicmasters original issue. The Concerto for Flute and Percussion is an early piece (1939) that reveals Harrison’s interest in experimenting with percussion sonorities before the Eastern influence became pervasive. Strict Songs is a gorgeous piece for choir, soloists, and chamber orchestra that deserves to be much better known. The words are typically “new age” but their very simplicity renders them timeless. We can only hope that the rest of Musicmasters’ Harrison catalog appears on New World in due course. He was a major voice in 20th century music, and the excellent discography of his works that appeared in the last couple of decades of his life does not deserve to languish. [5/9/2007]
