I had the chance (eventually) to listen to the new-release Naxos Sinfonietta (Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra / Antoni Wit) which acts as the filler for the Glagolitic Mass. First it must be said that this is a million miles ahead of the old Naxos release both in terms of performance and recording, but it strikes me that this is a piece which is very difficult to get absolutely right and there are several instances in this recording where the orchestra sounds low-weight and simply going through the motions such as the start of the second movement. I felt much the same about the Rattle / Philharmonia recording which starts well, but loses momentum as the work progresses. (Oh, the Rattle recording also has some odd noises in it - is Sir S making grunting sounds as he gurns? On the other hand, that may have just been Spotify).
The third movement is my favourite of the whole work and I was disappointed that Naxos seems to have omitted any microphone for the harp. The faster central section has some really good flute/piccolo flourishes and the brass v string balance is good - plus you get a rather dampened bell. In the quiet ending to this movement, the mic for the harp seems to be working now, or maybe the harpist was late in!
I don't particularly like the 4th movement and often skip it when I'm listening to the work, but here it is probably the best played movement of the lot - there is some really nice brass playing and I like the way Wit exaggerates the slowing down in the closing part of the movement until the dash to the end.
The final movement carries on the more positive feel to this recording started by the excellent previous movement and little touches in the score that often get overlooked in recordings are easy to hear here and show just how important they are; the lower descending notes in the clarinet after the screeching loud burst it has for example, and the flourishes in the lower woods just before the return of the fanfares. I'd prefer the timps to be a little further forward (they sound rather woolly) and unfortunately the whole thing loses impetus just before the very last chord, but overall not a bad recording, certainly better than some I've heard, but a long way from the very best.
