Marriner is becoming quite a master like Beecham himself at compiling lollipop records, and here in the French repertory he extends his scope to what one might think of as the 'big band' of the ASMF. It would be too much to claim that he evokes magical Beecham individuality in all these items, but with consistently crisp rhythmic pointing and immaculate string ensemble, all very fully and clearly recorded in excellent digital sound, these are more decisive, more characterful performances than one usually gets on record, when so often such pieces are treated merely as etceteras. It is after all a cunning collection. Asked to choose to represent these six composers with popular short pieces, not overtures, one could quite easily have coincided in one's list. That is except for Espana, which was surely a more obvious choice than the Marche joyeuse for Chabrier. Happily that final item brings the most exhilarating performance of all, really in the Beecham class.
By comparison, Berlioz's Hungarian March is neat and rhythmic but lacks a little in panache (though the bass drum is superbly caught), the Pavane is coolly beautiful at just the right tempo with the right degree of espressivo and the Dukas is superbly sprung with textures light and clear, though Marriner is not always consistent in his speed.
The Saint-Saens, taken rather fast, with splendid solo violin playing from Alan Loveday, becomes more of a devil's waltz than usual, and again the speeds are not always quite consistent. The Debussy like the Ravel is sensuously beautiful, clear of texture but well moulded with the antique cymbals finely balanced in the closing section, and I am only sorry that the outstanding flute soloist is not identified. My only serious reservation is that at under 42 minutes the programme is rather short measure, and I remain mystified by the sleeve design of a clockwork clown balancing on enormous inverted commas.'