Recently, I picked up several Turnabout recordings of Danish music conducted by Johan Hye-Knudsen. Here is one of overtures alone and I have added Gade's "Echoes of Ossian" from another Turnabout recording for a well filled cd. The program here is a fine representation of the high quality of music in Denmark during the 19th century.
This is an intriguing collection. JPE Hartmann, Gade and Kuhlau are known quantities but who is Du Puy and Weyse? Well, quite talented composers from where I am sitting. These overtures are full of imagination, melody and good spirit. The music is well assisted by the efforts of conductor Johan Hye-Knudsen, sort of a Danish Vernon Handley I'd say. Like Handley he was well known in his country as a strong advocate of native composers but little known, or appreciated, outside the Danish Kingdom's borders. If there is further interest, I will upload another Hye-Knudsen program, one of extended theatre suites of which Kuhlau is the main draw.
These are stereo recordings available as FLACs. Sometimes these little byways yield enjoyable results and this is obviously the case here.
