The Fantasy (Phantasie, Fantasia, or Fancy) is a form that dates back several centuries. In Elizabethan England, composers were fond of the genre and it made a comeback at the height of romanticism. In the 20th Century the British industrialist Walter William Cobbett instituted an annual competition encouraging British composers to resurrect the ancient form, but with certain modifications. The most popular and enduring work from the century just past-though in no way connected with the Cobbett competition--was Vaughan Williams\'s Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

Here we have several examples of Fantasy Pieces by 19th and early 20th Century composers, most either German or Scandinavian. The best known is the Opus 73 by Schumann: well-constructed and filled with both lyricism and passion. The less familiar companion works of Niels Gade and August Winding (1835-99) follow the same mold: brief but excellently crafted collections of miniatures that contain much fine music and expertly exploit both the lyrical and technical capabilities of the clarinet. Both the Nielsen and Gaubert are single-movement works, but they are built in such a way that each composer\'s fancy is wholly satisfied.

The playing here is first-class, leaving nothing to be desired, and the repertoire is appealing.

The British publisher William Forster commissioned these trios, also called divertimentos, in 1784. Forster had published many other works by Haydn and was well aware of the market potential of anything by him. Published either for two violins and cello or for flute, violin, and cello, they are fairly unusual in that Haydn borrowed freely from other works, including some of his baryton trios and the opera Il Mondo Della Luna. In fact only 9 of the 18 movements were newly composed. (Fermate\'s notes give the sources of the other seven movements.)

While not of earthshaking importance, this music is well written and pleasant in the typically 18th Century pastoral style. The young German musicians who make up the Agora Ensemble play with fine spirit and considerable polish. The recording is extremely natural.

The only other CD currently listed of these works is on Globe. I haven\'t heard it, but it includes two additional trios and thus offers a better value.

Recently I bought a disc containing Eduard Franck\'s Cello Sonata, Opus 6 and Richard Franck\'s Sonata 2, Opus 36 (Fermate 20021). At first I thought this must be the same thing, but this one turns out to be Eduard\'s Opus 42 and Richard\'s Opus 22 plus Richard\'s Serenade, Opus 24, a short and pleasant piece. In fact, pleasant describes all of this music, lovely and decidedly upbeat in nature. Blees and Gediga play it with warmth and musicality. Eduard (1817-93) is Richard\'s (1858-1938) father and both have a positive, romantic attitude that is refreshing and makes a very pleasant record. They were German composers who never quite made it to the big time, but both are full of beautiful ideas well carried out.

Blees has been recording at least as long as I have been reviewing, and it is nice to see him active again, still on the prowl for new old music. I first heard him playing a concerto by Leonardo Leo, if memory serves, on an old Vox LP. He still has the same warmth and directness I enjoyed then.

Goethe strikes again! One of the most oft-used themes in programming recordings of lieder--using poems by Wolfgang von Goethe--makes two appearances in this issue. The Berlin disc is the more conventional of the two, filled primarily with selections from Schumann\'s Lieder aus Wilhelm Meister, sung by Arleen Auger, and a mixed collection of lieder by Schubert and Beethoven, sung by Peter Schreier. Then there are three choral songs by Mendelssohn, performed by the Leipzig Radio Choir under the direction of Horst Neumann. All the selections have been previously released. Schreier\'s contributions were recorded in 1970, Auger\'s in 1977, and the chorus\'s in 1972 and 1978. It\'s all familiar repertory sung by well known artists in their prime. Suffice it to say that everything sounds beautiful. Schreier is in top form, especially in the Beethoven. Auger\'s voice, like a good violin, just got better and mellower with age. Lovely as she sounds here, when she was already 38, her bright, still youthful voice doesn\'t match the velvety smoothness of her later years. Compare this with the perfection of her Telarc recording of Strauss\'s Four Last Songs, made at age 49, just five years before she died. But even absent her later smoothness, she still sounds terrific. Mr Neumann and his choir perform the three Mendelssohn choral songs with superb polish. Excellent sound, brief notes and texts, but no translations, per Berlin\'s usual practice.

The programming on the Fermate recording is a bit more adventurous, focussing not just on Goethe, but on Faust in particular. Wagner\'s early (1831!) Sieben Kompositionen zu Goethes Faust is an interesting curiosity, but gives little hint as to the composer Wagner would eventually become. Included in the settings are his own treatment of \'Gretchen am Spinnrade\'-- certainly not the equal of Schubert\'s but a worthy effort nonetheless--and a curious little melodrama of just under four minutes, \'Ach Neige, du Schmerzenreiche\'. The Busoni and Hensel pieces are also unfamiliar, and while attractive in their own right, not especially memorable. Most ambitious is Liszt\'s Chor der Engel aus Faust II (1849), for mixed chorus and harp (or piano). Listening to the piano part played here, it is difficult to imagine the harp even attempting anything similar, as the piano part itself sounds like an orchestral reduction. I\'ve not seen the score--perhaps the harp and piano parts are conceived quite differently--but the implie d reduction from more powerful forces strikes at the problem here: the performers are not of the top tier.

Just as the piano in the Liszt chorus suggests the need for orchestral treatment, so the Heidelberg Madrigal Choir fails to fulfill the needs of this and the other choral selections. Although described as a chorus of nearly 50 adults, they sound for all the world like a college glee club of about 16 voices, with that peculiarly raw sound that collegiate choruses so often have. The Leipzig Radio Choir outclasses them in every respect. Baritone Thomas Laske and soprano Mechthild Bach, while satisfactory, are simply not in the same class as Peter Schreier and Arleen Auger.

The Fermate booklet is well organized, inviting easy comparison of settings of the same text (\'Es War Einmal em Konig\' appears four times in settings by Beethoven, Wagner, Busoni, and Liszt, for example), but in the end the listener will be far better served by the excellent performances on the Berlin disc, not to mention the lower price.

This instrument dates from about 1730, is designated the largest baroque organ in Westphalia, and is notable for its spring chests--an expensive type of construction very seldom found today. The organ is in critical need of a renovation along historical lines, and this disc is apparently intended to promote one in the near future.

Kraemer\'s program has been designed to display as much as possible of this interesting and valuable 45-stop instrument, which was last worked on by the firm of Paul Ott, Gottingen, in the 1950s. But most of the music is of only marginal interest. The two tedious, run-of-the-mill partitas eat up almost 23 minutes; and except for the Walther and Buxtehude, the remainder is third-rate baroque gebrauchsmusik.

The playing is often elegant and spirited, but also sometimes routine; and Kraemer\'s registrations, while there are plenty of different combinations, could be more interesting. The sound fidelity is excellent and the booklet nicely produced, even if the English translation is abominable. Complete registrations are listed.

Frank Martin\'s take on the Passion of Jesus is an intense, deeply felt affair that\'s worthy of attention. Our editor, Don Vroon, described the piece in some detail this past March/April while giving a positive review to a performance conducted by Herbert Bock on Hanssler 98327.

This is an impressive performance; dark, emphatic, and extremely well paced by the conductor. All three male soloists sound uncomfortable when they hit the upper register; otherwise, they make a most affecting group. Baritone Joachim Gebhardt is admirably expressive in the Jesus recitatives, where Maestro Siemens accompanies him with the utmost sensitivity. The chorus is good too, especially in the more wrenching portions of the drama. There\'s one splatty bit in Part I where they don\'t interact well with the soloists. This was recorded in concert back in 1988, and there\'s nothing at all wrong with the sound. Virtually no audience noise either.

If you\'re going to get to know Golgotha, though, I think you\'ll probably be happier starting out with that Hanssler version. Not only is it very well done, it\'s sung in French-the composer\'s language of choice. This one is in German, and while Martin approved of the translation, it might be better to stick with the original as you get to know the piece. Hanssler also gives you notes and translations in four languages, one of them English. Here, it\'s German only, which could keep you at a distance from Martin\'s handiwork. But if you\'ve already made the work\'s acquaintance and would like to know it better, these provincial German forces don\'t sound provincial in the least.

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