Janacek, L.: Operatic Orchestral Suites, Vol. 3 (Arr. P. Breiner) - The Cunning Little Vixen / From The House Of The Dead

This CD is the final instalment in a series of three of suites from Janacek's operas, arranged by Peter Breiner.

I will start off by saying that I usually hate this sort of thing! The Janacek operas are wonderful, beautiful works that I doubt need any help from anyone. But there is a history of this - Vaclav Talich made a suite of The Cunning Little Vixen, in an attempt to publicise the work of one of the most individual composers of the 20th century - and the music is gorgeous enough to stand on its own even when the voices and words are so integral to it.

Breiner is an interesting character and appears to have a role as Naxos's in-house arranger. He has done other arrangements, and was also heavily involved in producing the national anthems used at the Beijing Olympics. His background is Slovakian, so his connection to Janacek is more than just a liking for his music.

Despite my usually slightly cynical attitude to such enterprises, I will admit to having been bowled over by all three CDs in this series, and this one is the finest of them all. Breiner makes his selections wisely, so the highlights are all there; moreover these are arrangements which are both respectful and faithful to Janacek and to his unique sound world.

Breiner and Talich are very different in their choice of music for their suite from The Cunning Little Vixen (the work which I personally believe to be Janacek's masterpiece) - Talich seems to stick almost exclusively to Act One, whereas Breiner covers the whole story as it were. It was disappointing that the Forester's final Aria is not included here, but never mind - there's more than enough scorchingly beautiful music in The Vixen to manage anyway! I prefer Breiner's arrangement to Talich's, not only for its faithfulness to the spirit of the original and for its choice of music, but also for the suite itself's balance. It sounds like a suite deliberately chosen by the composer, even though it is not. Breiner chooses many bits which are orchestra-only in the opera, but when he doesn't, he is subtle enough with his augmented scoring to make up for the lack of voices and to allow the music to sing.

As with The Vixen, there are plenty of passages where the orchestra is alone in From The House of The Dead, and in his selection here, Breiner is a bit more predictable; it does mean however that the mood of the opera as a whole is less successfully caught here. But no matter, as once again the suite is full of the flavours of Janacek's last and possibly darkest opera.

So why buy this/these CDs? If you are intending on buying just one of this series, this is the one to go for. If you do not know Janacek's operas, they are a fabulous way of getting an insight into this composer's major works; if you don't like singing, the music without words speaks for itself most eloquently in such sympathetic arrangements; if you do know the operas these suites are wonderful supplements, performed here by an orchestra who are well up to the task, conducted by a man who obviously loves this music for itself.

This is the third and final volume of Naxos of orchestral music from the operas of Leos Janácek as arranged by the conductor of these discs, Peter Breiner Janacek: Orchestral Suites from the Operas, Vol. 1 - Jenufa - Suite & The Excursions of Mr. Broucek - Suite, Janácek: Orchestral Suites from the Operas, Vol. 2. There is much to love in Janácek's orchestral writing, as those of you who know his music know. The two operas featured on this disc - 'The Cunning Little Vixen' and 'From the House of the Dead' -- are perhaps not his best-known but each has been coming into its own recently, what with a marvelous DVD of the first Janácek - The Cunning Little Vixen / Nicholas Hytner · Sir Charles Mackerras · Thomas Allen · Eva Jenis · Tháâtre du Chatelet and the planned new production of the second at the Metropolitan this season (2009-2010). These CDs can give you a taste of that music without your having to pay so much attention to plot or singing; you might not like this Opera Without Words approach but there are plenty of music-lovers who like the opportunity to pay more attention to the music qua music that way. (Just think of all those orchestral opera synopses Stokowski made for these folks.) And when the music is as delicious, even hypnotic, and as nicely played as here, it serves a real purpose.

Scott Morrison

The other two reviewers give good reasons why you might wish to buy these suites. I will add another; we don't always have a spare hour and a half to two hours spare listening time so a suite gives you the highlights if you know the work already.

I especially agree with "Cute n'Cuddly Bartok" - did I really just type that? - in that the loss of the Gamekeeper's final aria is a significant loss to the Cunning Little Vixen. I also agree that the Vixen is Janacek's greatest opera, though there are plenty of other great ones. I do think the loss of the aria is a problem because the delightful cubs music, which makes up the finale, is more of a scherzo and doesn't seem to lead logically into the final chords. Secondly, the gamekeeper's aria gives the true message of the work. Janacek was so taken by it that he had it played at his own funeral. It puts a lump in my throat when I hear it so it's a big disappointment to miss that.

The House of the Dead suite makes sense but doesn't quite feel complete to me at its conclusion. I do have an issue with Peter Breiner's orchestration: it is, at times, a little too lush and intrusive. In the Vixen suite there is far too much unnecessary tuned percussion - celesta and harp in particular. It can detract fromt he melodic line. It sounds attractive but hides some of the best music behind too much padding.

The recording and performances are excellent. The sound is appropriately resonant and the orchestra play superbly. Another slight quibble is that Peter Breiner conducts rather careful performances that amplify the sense of luxury rather than the more angular and sinewy music we associate with Janacek.

Even so, it's still very enjoyable and great if you're just walking the dog for half an hour, like I often do. It sounds lovely and the music is good enough to survive Breiner's padding. I'll certainly seek out the other discs: recommended.