Both conductor and orchestra are well acquainted with the two main works on this enticing Kurt Weill release from LSO Live. Taken from a performance at the Barbican, London on the 28th of April 2022 and recorded in DSD256 this disc also features several pieces new to the SACD catalogue.

Simon Rattle first recorded Weill’s ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ in 1983 for EMI with his first wife the American soprano Elise Ross as the protagonist sisters Anna I (a singer) and Anna II (a dancer). On this new release the current Lady Rattle, Czech mezzo Magdalena Kožená, assumes those roles with considerable flair. She is backed up by a splendid line-up of male soloists – tenors Andrew Staples and Alessandro Fisher, baritone Ross Ramgobin and bass-baritone Florian Boesch – who collectively represent the Annas' family. The work, a perfect amalgam of Bertolt Brecht’s bitter satirical verses and Kurt Weill’s haunting music, has had many interpreters many of whom, with varying success, emulate the style of singer /actress Lotte Lenya the composer’s wife and most familiar collaborator. On this recording Magdalena Kožená performs the original version for soprano rather than the transposed arrangement adapted for Lenya’s voice.

The LSO recorded ‘Kleine Dreigroschenmusik’ with Michael Tilson Thomas in the late 1980s with a line-up that included legendary musicians like Maurice Murphy (trumpet) and John Harle (saxophone). MTT’s direction and pacing of the music had, to these ears, a touch more nuance and pizazz than Rattle achieves here with the current LSO’s admirable players, though their performance as a whole certainly does not disappoint.

Weill aficionados will also appreciate the additional selections on this generously filled SACD.

'Vom Tod in Wald' (Death in the Forest) is a short (here 8’18”) ballad for bass solo and ten wind/brass instruments from 1927, a setting of a text by Bertolt Brecht. Though superbly performed by Florian Boesch and the baleful LSO brass, its unrelenting bleakness makes it a piece I am unlikely to revisit often.

In contrast, ‘Lonely House’ from Weill’s American opera ‘Street Scene’ offers a welcome change of mood, delivered with sensitivity by Andrew Staples. Two of Weill’s ‘Four Whitman Songs’ also appear, split between Staples and Ross Ramgobin. Ramgobin’s commanding rendition of Beat! Beat! Drums! is matched by the LSO’s powerful accompaniment, while Staples captures the poignancy of ‘Dirge for Two Veterans’ to perfection.

The sound quality, engineered by Jonathan Stokes and Neil Hutchinson of Classic Sound, is outstanding. The 5.1 multi-channel SACD mix balances clarity and warmth, capturing both the vividness of the singing and the dynamic impact of the orchestra.

The presentation of the disc is also exemplary with a 62 page booklet that includes full German texts and English translations, excellent notes from both Jessica Duchen and David Drew as well as artist biographies. Like recent releases from this source that I have reviewed, the more environmentally friendly hardback book-style is most welcome.

Collectors should find this release a more than worthy addition to their shelves.

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