This time there really does seem to be a Joseph Martin Kraus revival taking place. It has been tried before. Kraus' radically inventive symphonies would occasionally appear in the international catalogs, his heartwrenching Funeral Music for Gustav III would be issued once a decade or so, and even his masterful opera Proserpina managed to receive its disc debut in the early days of digital. But with the post-millennial spate of recordings of Kraus' incidental music, surely the German-Swedish composer's time has come. Although assuredly not on the same sublime level as the aforementioned works, his four "Intermède" and "Divertissement (Balletto)" for Amphitryon receive a world-premiere recording that brings out the best in the varied and lovely music. Written in the high classical style of Haydn and Mozart, Kraus' score is perhaps more Boucher than Watteau in its perfumed and be-wigged loveliness, but never less than enchanting. The episodes succeed each other like a dream, with vocal solos following instrumental interludes and intermittent choral hymns and the whole becoming ultimately more than the sum of its parts. Werner Ehrhardt leads L'Arte del Mondo in full bodied, brightly colored, and vigorously rhythmic performances and the contributions of the joyful Bonner Kammerchor, the perky mezzo soprano Chantal Santon, and the stalwart tenor Georg Poplutz add considerably to the quality of the performance. Recorded in vivid digital sound by Phoenix Edition, this disc surely ought not to be the first Kraus disc anyone hears. But for the seasoned Kraus collector, it will be swiftly embraced.
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