The video is interesting on several levels. It's a curious choice on one sense, being the most familiar piece on the entire album. The Triumphal March has of course been recorded many times before. Perhaps the point is to demonstrate how the vigorous tempos help to rub some of the varnish off this old warhorse. (Some of Rozsa's later recordings were rather ponderous.) Let there be no doubt, however, that the Tadlow set will include much unfamiliar music as well. There are pieces that were never used in the film and others that were all but inaudible there.
At the end of the video are two puzzling stills. One seems to offer the second movement of the suite, but it was not playable for me. The other still shows two bearded guys. I guessed this was a scene from the 2002 Polish television version of QV. Correct! Click on this and you will see an extended clip from that interesting movie. At least until somebody corrects what I'm guessing is a mistake.
The first movement (Triumphal March) has been recorded many times. And there are several versions of the finale (Quo Vadis, Domine?). Kenneth Alwyn recorded three of the movements for Silva Screen in the 1990s. But nobody's recorded the entire four-movement suite for CD, and for some reason the reissue of the old Capitol/EMI mono recording also omitted a movement. So Nic Raine's recording will indeed be the stereo and digital premiere. Most treasurable in the suite is the slow movement (Romanza), which uses the the grave beauty of Petronius' theme to complement the familiar Lygia melody.
'premiere complete stereo recording of Rózsa’s Quo Vadis Suite.'?
So where are these from, out of curiosity? I'm guessing by that statement they aren't the same concert versions as on the 70s recording?
Shortly after the release of QUO VADIS, Rozsa prepare a 4 movement concert suite of the main thematic material...with quite different orchestrations from the film.
The complete 4 movements have only ever been recorded in their entirety once....and then only in mono.
The first movement, the Ave Casar March has been recorded many times. not so often recorded are the Romanza and Arabesque. My colleague at Silva Screen, David Wishart, did record some of the suite in Prague many years ago, but these where right at the end of a series of sessions and were just really recordings of the rehearsals. Ever since that day I have alays wanted to record all 4 movements as they should be done with correct tempos, balance etc...
So ordered! I play Tadlow's El Cid all the time and James Fitz and company have done some awesome re-recordings over the last few years. This will be an awesome listen.
