De Falla: The Three Cornered Hat, Nights in the Gardens of Spain - Debussy: Images - Chabrier: Espana - Moszkowski: Spanish Dances

The Decca Sound box is a jewel. Martinon's take on the Ibert Divertissement made me jump out of my listening chair and the same thing happened when I put on Ansermet's classic 1961 version of De Falla's Three Cornered Hat. Wow, how this music sparkles and glows! There is a liveliness and truthfulness in this recording that is otherwise reserved for vinyl. It is as if you are standing at Ansermet's desk. The Suisse Romande orchestra fans out around you and all the desks are as crisply audible as you could wish for. The sound is dynamic, spacious, layered, texturally rich and finelly chisseled. And, what is most extraordinary is that the musicians have faces. That is very rare in a CD recording but much more common with LPs. I've never particularly taken to Ansermet, but now I could for the first time appreciate the mastery of his conducting. Although the old maths teacher looks the part of a stodgy Kapellmeister, he is not. To the contrary, the music has plenty of fire whilst maintaining an almost classical poise. Unbelievable that Ansermet was already well beyond 70 when he recorded these works. The 'bonus' on this same disc is a recording of Debussy's Images (the 'bonus' comes on top of the music that is referred to on the original LP sleeves). It's as good, if not better, than any I have heard recently. Again, the recording is stellar with the French composer's awesome mastery of orchestration on hi-fidelity display.

I followed up with a collection of Spain-inspired pieces - Chabrier's Espana and a set of Spanish Dances by Moritz Moszkowski (1854-1925). This is a 1957 Kingsway Hall recording that sounds as fresh and buoyant as if it was recorded yesterday. There is none of the astringency or boxyness that characterises many older recordings. The music is not particularly great but Ataulfo Argenta's reading with the London SO makes for a superbly entertaining intermezzo. Honestly, I'd never heard of this guy but his amazing bio on wikipedia makes for compulsory reading.

Finally, De Falla's nocturnal Gardens with Alicia De Larrocha and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos leading the London Philharmonic. This is a more recent digital recording from 1983. Clearly a very different sound picture. The crackling freshness has made way for an opulence that I usually associate with the Concertgebouw in their eponymous hall. Needless to say it fits this music - with its dark Rachmaninovian splendour - particularly well. De Larrocha and de Burgos draw us into a world of moody contemplation, eschewing orchestral pyrotechnics in favour of a somberly lyrical take on the score. Just letting this music wash over you, slumped in your listening chair, glass of wine in hand, is a superbly hedonistic indulgence.