You Are There! – 22 Classic Hits (1994)

1 	Coates: Halcyon Days from 'The Tree Elisabeths' 	2:27 	Frederick Fennell
2 	Gounod: Funeral March of a Marionette 	3:36 	Paul Paray
3 	Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme 	2:01 	Janos Starker
4 	Stravinsky: Sherzo a la russe 	3:49 	Antal Dorati
5 	Soloviev-Sedoy: Midnight in Moscow 	2:33 	Vitaly Gnutov
6 	Bizet: Danse Boheme from 'Carmen' 	4:37 	Paul Paray
7 	De Lisle: La Marseillaise 	1:14 	Paul Paray
8 	Khachaturian: Dance of the Rose Maidens from 'Gayne' 	2:20 	Antal Dorati
9 	Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.7 in A Major 	1:58 	Antal Dorati
10 	Liszt: Piano Concert No.2 in A - Allegro animato 	1:41 	Byron Janis
11 	Prokofiev: Marche from 'The Love for Three Oranges' 	1:40 	Antal Dorati
12 	Copland: Appalachian Spring - Variations on a Shaker Hymn 	3:31 	Antal Dorati
13 	Vardell: Joe Clark Steps Out 	3:30 	Howard Hanson
14 	Sousa: The Liberty Bell 	3:29 	Frederick Fennell
15 	Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major 	2:35 	Antal Dorati
16 	Saint-Saens: Symphony No 3 in C Minor 	2:17 	Paul Paray
17 	Bach: Suite No 6 in D Major for Solo Cello (Gavottes) 	3:41 	Janos Starker
18 	Mendelssohn: Song Without Words, Opus 62, No.1 	2:53 	Janos Starker
19 	Anderson: The Syncopated Clock 	2:33 	Frederick Fennell
20 	Respighi: Ancient Dances and Airs for Lute. Suite No.2 (Bergamesca) 	5:42 	Antal Dorati
21 	Chabrier: Joyeuse Marche 	3:39 	Paul Paray
22 	Hanson: No.2 'romantic': Allegro Con Brio 	7:21 	Howard Hanson

This sampler CD is to an ordinary sampler CD what Aeschylus is to Harvey Fierstein. If you are over 55, it might also summon unexpected memories. The first selection, called "Halcyon Days" (composed by Eric Coates), will bring an instant rush of recollection to the post-double-nickel crowd of the excitement of watching "The Forsyte Saga" on 26 consecutive Sunday nights some forty years ago (Coates's tune was the theme music, but as Mel Brooks once said in another context, "back then, who knew?"). The next, Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette," also served as TV theme music--for Alfred Hitchcock's weekly program, wherein the great director wryly introduced and commented upon murder-and-mayhem mysteries of variable but often surprisingly high quality.

As the CD opens, so it continues. Pieces from the Mercury catalog--some played in their entirety, some excerpted--follow one another not quite randomly. The Gounod-Hitchcock mode is the template: whimsy and gentle irony seem to be the characteristics governing choice and order. Pieces come, as sorrows do in "Hamlet," not single spies but in battalions (well, at least in twos and threes). The combinations make excellent use of both similarity and contrast; for example, Stravinsky's jaunty Scherzo à la Russe (charmingly conducted by Antal Dorati) is followed by another Russian confection: a cabaret-pop arrangement of "Midnight in Moscow"! This pattern continues throughout the 22 selections.

Thus far, what has been described fits a CD well suited to background listening accompanying conversation during a long automotive jaunt (by no means an ignoble fate, of course). The adjoined 156-page book is what gives this release true historical value (that is, for those with an interest in Mercury Living Presence, one of the most important independent record labels). It records in some detail the practices and procedures of Mercury's genii loci, Robert Fine and Wilma Cozart Fine, and their hardly less renowned colleague Harold Lawrence. Mrs. Fine--who passed away, alas, late in 2009--opens the book with a modestly prideful and dignified prefatory note. Farther in, one may find detailed descriptions of several groundbreaking projects, including the recording of music heard and weaponry used during the Civil War (an instance of period authenticity before the term was commonplace--or even coined!) and the first tapings ever made on site in the old Soviet Union by a Western recording company. Adding to the attractions of the book are signed reminiscences by Byron Janis, Frederick Fennell, and Janos Starker, as well as insightful and informative thumbnail sketches of such other famous Mercury artists as Dorati, Marcel Dupré, Henryk Szeryng, Gina Bachauer, and Paul Paray (the last two being especial favorites).

It is hoped that the foregoing description provides justification for the five stars awarded this disc and book, which, it must be admitted, have intrinsically limited appeal (how many subscribers to Classic Record Collector could there be!). Taking into account the cautions regarding format and listener age, a prospective purchaser might well find delight here. Yet the great mass of Amazon customers (that is, those with more future than past) may quite reasonably consider this package someone else's memory-lane trip and choose to sample other sampler fare. Caveat lector! --- pclaudel, amazon.com

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