Witches’ Brew gathers orchestral music of sorcery, menace and supernatural motion into a programme with the irresistible logic of a late-night tale. Alexander Gibson and the New Symphony Orchestra of London begin from vivid theatrical material. Malcolm Arnold’s Tam O’Shanter Overture races through drunken adventure and pursuit, its quick changes of character giving the orchestra ample opportunity for wit as well as danger.
The darker colours continue through music associated with fantastic creatures, witches and demonic dance. Mussorgsky’s writing brings rough elemental force; Saint-Saëns’s Danse macabre makes the violin a sinister master of ceremonies; Humperdinck and Liszt add their own visions of flight and temptation. The attraction of the album lies in its sequence. These are not detached orchestral showpieces placed at random, but episodes in a changing dramatic landscape. Sudden percussion, darting strings and brass eruptions keep shifting the imagined scene. Gibson keeps the character of each composer distinct while sustaining the programme’s mischievous, nocturnal atmosphere. For collectors of classic orchestral albums, Witches’ Brew also represents the art of programming at its most imaginative: repertoire, title and visual identity all invite the listener into the same world.
This Analogue Productions Living Stereo/Decca edition presents the programme on one 180-gram LP. The single-disc format preserves its compact spell from opening chase to final apparition, with every scene in place. Michael 45 holds the goods in Germany and sends them from Hilden, so customers in Germany and the EU can avoid arranging a private US import or waiting for customs processing.
Customer question: Buying Analogue Productions records in Europe
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