Frank Martin

Suite from Der Sturm, Six Monologues from Jedermann, Symphonie Concertante

Thomas Oliemans baritone, Stavanger Symphony/Steven Sloane

Dabringhaus und Grimm: MDG9011614

An interesting collection of orchestral works by Frank Martin (1890-1974). Thomas Oliemans is the excellent soloist inthe Everyman monologues, previously championed by Fischer-Dieskau, and excerpts from The Tempest, in the Schlegel translation "a monument of German literature".

The curiosity is the Symphonie Concertante, a reworking for full orchestra of the Petite Symphonie Concertante with harp, harpsichord and piano.

Martin feared that the unusual instrumentation would limit performances and, as an insurance, produced the version here (Lucerne, 1946). He was so wrong, as evinced by some dozen recordings of the original on Amazon; just one other of this one...

This new disc is well recorded and documented, with full texts and translations. No comparisons are offered, but it is recommendable as a worthy introduction to a composer who is, nowadays, less often performed in UK.

Peter Grahame Woolf