Saint-Eustache in Montreal is such a marvellous recording venue that the effect of the dancing strings at the opening of Mendelssohn's lovely overture is remarkably real and lifelike on this CD (the LP is very good but there remains the thinnest gauze between the music-making and the listener) and if anything the commanding brass opening of Ruy Blas with the scurrying violins to follow is even more striking in its realism.
The Decca engineers seem to have placed their microphones ideally and, as with many previous records from this source, the ambient effect suits the music perfectly. So those looking for just the Overture and familiar orchestral suite from Mendelssohn's much loved incidental music will find here a splendid illusion of the concert hall. Personally I prefer to have the music in a more complete format, including the vocal numbers, and could be happy with the available recordings of a fuller selection, from for instance, Previn or Klemperer, both on EMI (CD CDC7 47163-2, 9/86 and CDC7 47230-2, 2/87 respectively). Previn's Overture sounds very realistic too and the performance has more magic. The Montreal orchestra under Dutoit play the Overture with plenty of spirit, but less charm, and the very brisk tempo Dutoit chooses for the Scherzo provides no charm at all—here Klemperer demonstrates with superb Philharmonia articulation how light and genial this piece can be made to sound when the pacing is quite slow. Swirling Montreal strings in the Intermezzo are entirely in place, with the middle section neat and nicely contrasted; the ''Wedding March'' is grand but not exuberant.
The account of The Hebrides Overture is well controlled with a strong climax and some fine clarinet playing, but overall it doesn't quite lift off. Ruy Blas is much better but the highlight of the disc is the delightful Fair Melusina, portrayed with a spontaneous felicity that recalls Beecham's famous account.'