Philip Peters <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>For another view from around the same time Ristenparts recording (OOP, as
>far as I know) is an interesting comparison while more recently Marriners
>effort is well worth hearing.

Ristenpart recorded it twice, first in an orchestration by Winschermann
(I have this on a Japanese Erato 2-CD set) and then in an orchestration by
Bitsch and Pascal (recently issued on a 6-CD set on the Accord label, with
his famous Brandenbourgs, suites, etc.) The latter is by far my favorite
recording since it was released on that wonderful Nosesuch LP set.

Another recording I strongly recommend is that by Erich Bergel and the Cluj
Philharmonic (on the Budapest Music Center label, BMC CD 011).  He composed
his own completion for the last (unfinished) fugue and I must say it is an
emotional tour the force.

Recordings for string quartet go back to the days of 78s when the Roth
Quartet recorded the Roy Harris transcription (subsequently recorded by the
Portland SQ and released on Arabesque on LP and on CD).  As far as I know,
the Juilliard recording is the only one where the key is not transposed.
They comissioned a special bass viola so that this could be accomplished.
As nice as the Delme recording is (nicely played, great sound, with the
unfinished last fugue as well as the completion by Simpson), the
transposition to a higher key makes the work sound less somber and with
less gravitas than I like in this work.  In this sense, the Juilliard
recording makes no compromises.

Ramon Khalona