New Records

Bach: Cello Suites Nos. 1 & 3 (Antonio Janigro; Westminster). Ingratiating performances of these rarely heard, unaccompanied works. Italian Cellist Janigro plays with refined pitch, sweetness of tone and devoted care.

Dubois: The Seven Last Words of Christ (Boston Chorale, organ and soloists conducted by Willis Page; Cook). A major effort by a minor 19th century composer. The disk is notable chiefly for its remarkable sound reproduction, some stirring choral singing, and the beautiful soprano voice of Margo Stagliano. Available in binaural recording, too.

Franqaix: Serenade B-E-A (Pasquier Sextet; Esoteric). A perfumed, witty and impudent serenade in the Gallic manner. Its object is the praise of womankind, plus solution of a technical puzzle: the three letters of the title are its thematic notes.

Orff: Carmina Burana (Bavarian Radio Orchestra, chorus and soloists conducted by Eugen Jochum; Decca). In 1937 German Composer Carl Orff turned 25 medieval minstrel poems into a cantata about wine, women and springtime. The style is reminiscent of early Stravinsky, with its thudding rhythms, large masses of sound and uncomplicated message.

Schoenberg: Five Pieces for Orchestra (Chicago Symphony conducted by Rafael Kubelik; Mercury). A pre-twelve-tone work (1909) by a man who had already turned his back on Wagner and Debussy. The score, which seeks to suggest the shrugs and nudges of one man's subconscious, ranges from vaporous to terrifying. Performance: excellent.

Shostakovich: Concerto in C Minor (Victor Aller, piano; Mannie Klein, trumpet; Concert Arts String Orchestra conducted by Felix Slatkin; Capitol). A barrel of fun, vintage 1933. It turns pretentious phrases into taradiddles, uncovers one ear-tickling twist after another, and includes a slow movement that is unfailingly melodious. Standout performance.

Other new records of note: Bach's St. Matthew Passion, played by a Viennese orchestra, chorus and soloists under the direction of Hermann Scherchen (Westminster, 4 LPs); all ten of Beethoven's Violin & Piano Sonatas, played by Violinist Joseph Fuchs and Pianist Artur Balsam (Decca; 5 LPs); Wagner's complete Tristan and Isolde, with Kirsten Flagstad, Ludwig Suthaus and the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwaengler (Victor).

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