Puccini<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s songs remain little known \u2013 though occasionally a singer will include a handful in recital.<\/p>The most worthwhile element of this collection is the vocalism of American Charles Castronovo, whose tonal qualities are as Italianate as his name and who is in easy command of his appealing lyric tenor. Other facets are disappointing. The songs were mostly written for voice and piano, and the disc could have simply involved a pianist; instead, chamber-like arrangements are used that rarely suggest the richer qualities of Puccini\u2019s orchestral writing. Curiously, the orchestra is set back in the sound picture.<\/p>
The booklet provides insufficient information \u2013 not even the dates of composition. Why did Puccini set the Spanish text \u2018Dios y Patria\u2019? What is the origin of his \u2018Inno a Roma\u2019, later taken up by the Fascists \u2013 not Puccini\u2019s intention for a piece he described as \u2018una porcheria\u2019 (\u2018rubbish\u2019)? We are not told.<\/p>
Worse, texts and translations are not provided, disappointing given the songs\u2019 rarity.<\/p>
Though they vary in style and quality, the best are enjoyable. Never one to waste a good musical idea, Puccini recycled material: anyone knowing Manon Lescaut<\/em>, La boh\u00e8me <\/em>or La rondine<\/em> will encounter something familiar from these theatrical contexts. The same applies to the Capriccio sinfonico<\/em>, one of three orchestral fillers, the others being the Preludio sinfonico<\/em> and the attractive (and pleasingly arranged) memorial piece Crisantemi<\/em>, though Carlo Rizzi\u2019s recent recordings of the first two on Signum (reviewed, p73) outshine those available here.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By George Hall Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 11:59 AM Charles Castronovo (tenor); Munich Radio Orchestra\/Ivan Repu\u0161i\u0107 BR Klassik 900349\u00a0\u00a0 68:27 mins A relatively minor element within his output, Puccini\u2019s songs remain little known \u2013 though occasionally a singer will include a handful in recital. The most worthwhile element of this collection is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":39552,"template":"","categories":[1,82,19],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"2"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/puccini-orchestral-songs-and-works.jpg",900,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/puccini-orchestral-songs-and-works-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/puccini-orchestral-songs-and-works-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/puccini-orchestral-songs-and-works-768x768.jpg",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/puccini-orchestral-songs-and-works.jpg",800,800,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/puccini-orchestral-songs-and-works.jpg",900,900,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/02\/puccini-orchestral-songs-and-works.jpg",900,900,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By George Hall Published: Thursday, 29 February 2024 at 11:59 AM Charles Castronovo (tenor); Munich Radio Orchestra\/Ivan Repu\u0161i\u0107 BR Klassik 900349\u00a0\u00a0 68:27 mins A relatively minor element within his output, Puccini\u2019s songs remain little known \u2013 though occasionally a singer will include a handful in recital. The most worthwhile element of this collection is the…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/39551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}