With more music than the two suites by which it is usually represented on disc and less talking than the whole play by which it was represented on BIS, this Naxos release of
Grieg's complete incidental music from
Ibsen's Peer Gynt finds an unusual and unlikely middle ground for fans of the composer. Performed here by two choirs, 11 vocal soloists, and the
Malmö Symphony Orchestra all under the direction of
Bjarte Engeset, the music is well presented in tasteful and professional interpretations. True, there have been more evocative accounts of the most famous movements -- the "Morning Mood," for example, is somewhat lacking in freshness -- but as a whole,
Engeset leads a convincingly cohesive performance. The singers are a mixed lot vocally, but never less than persuasively dramatic. Non-Norwegian speakers might be put off at first by the occasional bits of spoken dialogue, but they work in context and without them the melodramatic music might have seemed faintly silly. The inclusion of two other
Grieg vocal rarities, Before a Southern Convent and Bergliot, nicely fills out the set with performances that match Peer Gynt for quality and appeal. Naxos' digital sound is cool, colorful, and surprisingly realistic.