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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 27, No. 2. 1964.

Bossa Nova To Opera

Bossa Nova To Opera

Ole! Bossa Nova! Laurindo Almeida. Capitol T1872

"With irresistible infectiousness, bossa nova is permeating modem American music. Its lithe grace and subtle rhythms are restoring to the public ear an appreciation of musical delicacy that seemed all but lost forever." Thus, the sleeve note.

Bossa nova is anything but new, of course, as witness the combination of Laurindo Almeida, Shelly Manne and Chico Guerrero, and the reincarnated numbers, lor example, Satin Doll, Alley Cat and Heartaches. But if your preference lies to the far right of the jazz continum this is worthy material, well recorded.

Italian Operatic Arias Franco Corelli/Orohestra/Franco Ferraris, H.M.V. Malp 1978, ASDM 529.

Here is a tenor voice of magical lyric quality in dramatic presentations of some eleven of the "not so well known" arias from Italian opera (one from German). Corelli has firmly established himself in the singing of such roles and not to be wondered. Just listen to his control and effortless breathing in E luceveui le stelle and Un di, all'azzurro spazio. Marred only by a little uncertainty in the upper register. The Nicolai Gedda of Neopolitan lieder! The recordings (mono and stereo) are well-balanced and spacious. Clean surfaces.

Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1. LISZT Hungarian Fantasia. Katchen / L.S.O. / Gamba. Decca ACLM 63.

The plowman homeward plods his weary way. Heaven knows this is just not satisfactory piano playing; it is at once plodding and plowing the patch with ruthless automation. It's all so lack-lustre and pedestrian, lacking in any brilliance of tonal-colour effortlessness, in the dry, crisp phrasing so much needed in such works.

The same applies to the orchestra. Not much has been done to patch up this re-release of a dated recording (1956). It was on unresonant and boxy sound then too. There are better cheap issues of the Tchaikovsky concerto.

Music for Late Night Latins. Francisco Cavez. Parlophone PMCM 1189, PCSM 3037.

Francisco Cavez carries on the work, spreading the Latin gospel (he is an Italian working in Britain) left not uncompleted by Roberto Inglez, Rudy Valle and others, at the Savoy Hotel.

With an ostinato of pleasured ooh's, aah's and mmm's built over figured rhythms a la tango, mambo, samba and cha-cha-cha, this latest suet pudding of inspired devilishment should sell well to all who have the slightest interest in dancing music. The renderings are lively throughout and recorded at a sensible level.