Charles Munch conducts Berlioz

Charles Munch's rousing yet elegant way with Berlioz was amply documented by RCA Victor in the fifties and sixties. Much of this material has turned up on CD before, yet the greater presence and definition of BMG's 20-bit transfers tip the scales in favor of this eight-disc compilation. The slight tape dropouts marring an earlier reissue of the 1954 stereo Fantastique, for instance, are remedied, though I still prefer Munch's more disciplined, character-filled 1962 remake (BMG 09026-61721-2). And why the mono Roméo et Juliette again, while the 1961 stereo version still awaits CD transfer? No complaints, though, about the magnificent 1953 Damnation, the delicate and tender L'Enfance du Christ, and Victoria de Los Angeles' gossamer Nuits D'été. And tenor soloist Léopold Simoneau's gorgeous Sanctus is worth the price of the 1959 Requiem. The various overtures filling out the set, as well as Harold en Italie, are superficially exciting, but lack the finesse and proportion Colin Davis brings to this repertoire. Excellent annotations.