Mahler 5; Pettersson: Barefoot Songs. Stockholm Phil/Antal Dorati
GP49
PETTERSSON: EIght Barefoot Songs (arr.: Dorati)
Erik Saeden, baritone
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Antal Dorati
Recorded September 14-15 1973 in Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden.
Recording Engineer: Hakan Sjogren
Stereo LP:
HNH 4003-4004 (USA)
original Swedish issue: Lyssna 4 (disc sides LY 74-4/A through D)
Hungarian conductor Antal Dorati is not known as a Mahlerian. Yet he
conducted Mahler symphonies and song cycles frequently during his
career, At a time when Mahler was rarely performed, Dorati led the
Symphony No. 4 in Dallas in 1949, and Symphonies 1, 2, 3, Das Lied von
der Erde and Kindertotenlieder in Minneapolis during the early 1950s.
In Israel he conducted the Mahler 7 and 10; in Sweden, the Mahler 5
and 10. But he made only one commercial Mahler recording, the present
one of the Symphony No. 5 for the Swedish label Lyssna. In 1977, it
was issued in the USA on the HNH label, but has disappeared since,
with no known CD issue.
The coupling, the Eight Barefoot Songs by Allan Pettersson
(1911-1980), here sung by Swedish baritone Erik Saeden (1924-2009),
comprise the most significant work of Pettersson's early period,
before he began work on his eighteen symphonies (two remain
unfinished). It appears here in an orchestration by Antal Dorati, who
championed Pettersson's symphonies during the 1970s.
The Mahler is presented in four FLACs with the fourth and fifth
movements in a single track. It is derived from an LP-to-digital
transfer by Donald Clarke, with minimal click removal. Some noise,
crackles and clicks are still present; HNH was not renowned for its
silent pressings. Donald no longer owns the LP, so a new transfer
could not be done from that record; and although I do have a copy of
the HNH issue, the Mahler sounds well worn from many playings before I
acquired it, probably with a worn stylus; it would have made a
transfer inferior to Donald's.
The Pettersson is from my copy; fortunately the former owner didn't
play it much, so it still sounds good. It is presented in eight
FLACs, with two image files for the Swedish texts with English
translations, from the HNH album.