Orff: Carmina Burana
This most favorite of choral works is infused with life through the fluid singing of the soloists. Hagegard's everyman baritone overflows with sensitive phrasing and a deliciously appealing timbre. McNair's lovely lyric glides across the music, capturing the subtle textual nuances--she has never been more appealing. The chorus is void of feeling in the first half, hypnotically following Slatkin's joyless lead. However, once they enter "The Court of Love" in Part III, they sing blissfully and expansively, capturing all the pleasures that Orff's piece offers. The orchestra, playing at full throttle, is crisp and energetic.--Barbara Eisner Bayer