Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording
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CD Details
Composer: Claude-Michel SchoenbergConductor: Martin Koch
Orchestra: Philharmonia Pit Orchestra
Performer: Aline Mowat
Performer: Anthony Warlow
Performer: Barry James
Performer: Becky Norman
Performer: Beverly Klein
Performer: Bruce Winant
Performer: Debbie Byrne
Performer: Deirdre Forrest
Performer: Don Gallagher
Performer: Gary Beach
Performer: Gary Morris
Performer: Gay Soper
Performer: Glyn Kerslake
Performer: Graham Gill
Performer: Ian Dring
Performer: Jackie Marks
Performer: James Francis Johnson
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set, Cast Recording, Enhanced
CD Release Date: 2004-06-01
Music Label: Red Ink
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Prologue
- Valjean's Soliloquy (What Have I Done?)
- At the End of the Day
- I Dreamed a Dream
- Lovely Ladies
- Fantine's Arrest
- Runaway Cart
- Who Am I?/The Trial
- Fantine's Death
- Confrontation
- Castle on a Cloud
- Master of the House
- Bargain-The Waltz of Treachery
- Look Down
- Robbery-Javert's Intervention (Another Brawl)
- Stars
- Eponine's Errand
- ABC Cafe/Red and Black
- Do You Hear the People Sing?
- Rue Plumet-In My Life
- Heart Full of Love
- Attack on Rue Plumet
- One More Day
- At the Barricade (Upon These Stones)
- On My Own
- Building the Barricade
- Javert's Arrival
- Little People
- Little Fall of Rain
- Night of Anguish
- First Attack
- Drink With Me
- Bring Him Home
- Dawn of Anguish
- Second Attack (Death of Gavrobe)
- Final Battle
- Sewers - Dog Eats Dog
- Javert's Suicide
- Turning
- Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
- Every Day (Marius and Cosette)
- Valjean's Confession
- Wedding Chorale/Beggars at the Feast
- Epilogue (Finale)
Music reviews of Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording
Music Review: Not the best, but good for the collector
Rating: 3 Stars
As soon as I bought this album, I created a version that intermixed this one with the Broadway Cast and the 10th Anniversary. Which is to say that there is a lot that is good in this version, but a lot that's better in other versions.
THE GOOD
1. Of course having the entire album available is great, which means getting to listen to parts that I hadn't heard in years. The sound quality is excellent, and the overall sound is very lush. I was especially happy to hear (1) the full version of the "Look Down" reprise, (2) Gavroche's death scene, (3) Valjean's confession, and (4) Marius's wedding confrontation with the Thenardiers.
2. There were some very good performances, especially Michael Ball as Marius, Philip Quast as Javert, and the young actor who played Gavroche. Philip Quast was not as pointed and visceral as he was in the 10th Anniversary version (when he was paired with the excellent Colm Wilkinson), but was still one of the best. I am one of the few people not overly enamored of Michael Ball, whose vocal performances have a harsh, whiny tinge and frequently lack subtlety. However, in this version, he gives his most restrained performance, and in some scenes, such as the wedding confrontation, he is very effective.
I agree that Andy Warlowe has a good voice, but count me as a Michael Maguire fan. Fans of Warlowe like to cite his more powerful range, but I think that both ignores the very different setting in which he and Maguire performed and the fact that Maguire is a superior vocal actor. When Maguire sings, he just sounds powerful and in control. By contrast, Warlowe must scream to sound authoritative ("Where are the SWELLS who run this show?!"). Also compare the two during the "Lamarque is dead" sequence: Maquire sings fast and sounds genuinely excited, while Warlowe sings slowly and mechanically. Yes, by singing slower, Warlowe sounds smoother, but I would be moved by Maguire's Enjolras; not so much by Warlowe's. Finally, the complaints about Maguire's singing largely stem from his live performance in the 10th Anniversary edition versus the studio-recorded Complete Symphonic version, where Warlowe could presumably have sung many takes until the best was chosen.
THE BAD
1. The overacting, which I went into a bit above. Warlowe, Gary Morris, and especially the Thenardiers are all guilty. I actually think that Gary Morris's voice is fine, though in songs like "One Day More," his inability to hold long notes is very noticeable. However, it is his acting that really detracts from his performance. "My GOD, Cosette! I heard a CRY in the dark!" I wonder if a poor director was presiding over this version, telling the performers that they must scream in order to make themselves heard? This version's Thenardier, meanwhile, is the first that struck me as repulsive, while Madame Thenardier screeches like a debauched Smurfette.
2. This version's Eponine, who has an uneven vocal performance. While it was admirable that the singer could sing the part without knowing English, in several places, her poor diction is noticeable and takes you out of the scene. Dozens of people had played Eponine by the time of the Complete Symphonic Recording -- why not go with someone who could sing the part clearly?
So all in all, this recording is worth the money, as long as you buy it for its parts rather than the whole.
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