Over the years, whenever I have reviewed new versions of this much-recorded work, this vintage account from Fruhbeck has provided one of the comparisons. Always I have had it reinforced not just how persuasive the performance is—colourful, dramatic, superbly sung and played with consistent resilience—but how vivid the recording remains. It is true that it cannot match the latest contenders in its frequency range, but with a warm, believable ambience, the ear compensates for that, and the balances are a greater deal more convincing than on many newer accounts. Until recently it stayed at full price—nor surprisingly—but a mid-price reissue is both sensible and welcome. In the mid-sixties few conductors matched Fruhbeck in the way he drew the fines from the New Philharmonia Chorus, and this is a vintage example of his work. Few rivals match him in the way he finds warmth and tenderness as well as energy in this shallow but compelling score. The soloists are first rate too, notably the silver-toned Lucia Popp.'