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Service (1974), a simple setting of the traditional Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis evening canticles.
Like a number of English canticle settings, it is plainchant-based, which is so often a recipe for work-
manlike results. Moores setting, however, is one of the finest in this genre, being eminently practi-
cal but also very beautiful. After each chant phrase, a polyphonic choral response literally blooms
forth. The remaining choral works include both accompanied and unaccompanied pieces, all on
sacred texts, except for The Song of the Roses (a festive, unaccompanied setting of an anonymous
16th-century love poem). Strangely, the disc does not contain what I (and a number of others)
believe may well be Moores best choral work, Three Prayers of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1980).
In addition to the choral music, the disc contains two organ solos and one extended work for
soprano and organ. The two organ works chosen are not among Moores most memorable, though
they would serve well as service voluntaries. Moore does have several noteworthy organ solos
such as the terrific Paean (2009)that make a stronger impression than either the Dance-Rondo or
Three Pieces for Withycombe. In Memoriam (1987) is the longest work on the disc (at more than 15
minutes) and is a setting of a number of memorial-themed texts. It is a nice addition to the voice and
organ duo repertoire. Susan Hamiltons performance is competent, but surprisingly cold, given the
emotional content of the texts.
Moore is certainly an important presence in English church music, and this composer-super-
vised recording presumably includes the works that he chose (or at least approved) to make up his
recorded musical rsum. I recommend it particularly for the best pieces, and certainly the whole
disc presents a pleasant listening experience. The Exon Singers under Matthew Owens sing well and
recorded sound is good. Carson Cooman

MOZART Horn Concertos: Nos. 3, 4. Konzertsatz in E. L. MOZART Horn Concerto in D. Concerto

in E for 2 Horns1 Zbigniew uk, 1Jacek Muzyk (hn); Jan Stanienda, cond; Wrocaw CO UK
160114 (58:49)
Zbigniew uks discography continues to grow with this latest release of yet more recordings
from the 1990s, this one originally issued in 2006 but distributed by Albany Music for the first time in
2010. These performances of W. A. Mozarts last two horn concertos will not efface memories of
Dennis Brain or, even better, Hermann Baumanns incredible natural-horn performances with Nikolaus
Harnoncourt from the 1970s, but they are delightful in their own right. I especially like the jaunty tem-
pos set by the orchestra and uks equally jaunty performance, though, at times, his tone sounds curi-
ously muffled, unlike his sound on other recordings. His first trill in the opening movement of No. 3 is
a little indistinct; his later trills are better. The Konzertsatz is played much in the same fashion.
Pop Mozart was, of course, not as great a composer as his son, but he had his moments and the
solo horn concerto is one of them: a sprightly piece, not as technically challenging as Wolfgangs con-
certos yet delightful in its own right. uks tone remains, alas, muffled here, but again there is much
to admire in phrasing and technique. Im wondering if its the specific instrument he used for this
recording, listed on the back as a Kalison, Mod. Crott and Knopf F-alto. This appears to be a hybrid
of the Kalison Crott model and a Knopf Model 20, on the latter of which there is a high F slide instead
of the normal double horns low F, which is an octave lower. (My thanks to reader Peter Hirsch for
unraveling this combo-horn data.) If it isnt the horn itself, perhaps he simply has his hand too far in
the bell. In either case, it does inhibit ones enjoyment if you, like me, prefer a clearer horn sound.
The Leopold Mozart concerto for two horns is perhaps the least-well-known piece on the disc,
but it has moments of interest and is played well by uk and Jacek Muzyk. Overall, then, a musi-
cally excellent disc marred only by the dull tone. Lynn Ren Bayley

MOZART Piano Concertos: No. 9; No. 12; No. 14 Edna Stern (pn); Arie van Beck, cond; Auvergne
CO ZIG-ZAG ZZT 100901 (70:03)
Little need be said about this undistinguished disc. The performances use modern instruments
but employ historically informed period-performance practice. Pianist Edna Stern has elegant tech-
nique but plays these works as ephemeral salon music and barely scratches the interpretive surface.
The conducting is similarly on autopilot; recorded sound is bright, forward, and rather closely miked.
An annoyance is the eccentric printing of the booklet, which repeatedly overlays and obscures the pro-
Fanfare May/June 2011 341
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