Silent movie composer Jacob Gade has the blessing -- and the misfortune -- of composing what has to be the most popular piece of Danish music ever composed, the tango Jalousie. Written in 1925 to accompany the Douglas Fairbanks picture Don Q, the piece swiftly became an international favorite and was helped in the United States by an excellent 1935 recording by
Arthur Fiedler and the
Boston Pops. However, Gade himself remained little known outside of Denmark, and in some places his credit was confused with Niels Gade, a composer of an earlier era not related to him. Danish label DaCapo has helped rectify this situation through recording Jalousie and several of Gade's other creations on Jacob Gade: Jealousy -- Suites, Tangos and Waltzes, featuring
Matthias Aeschbacher and the
Odense Symphony Orchestra.
One might assume that such a collection could only consist of such empty fripperies that only a listener with a permanent sweet tooth embedded in their musical taste buds could be capable of enjoying it. However, this is one of the most purposeful and entertaining recordings DaCapo has ever done; Gade's music is inspired, gracious, memorable, and beautifully scored. Anyone who loves late Viennese operetta or even American musicals of the early twentieth century should have no problem getting this album, which contains a short ballet, two orchestral suites, the Rhapsodietta (1931) (which is written in the manner of a potpourri and has a great trombone part), and three waltzes.
Aeschbacher handles the music with great care and seems to be aware of Gade's cinematic leanings, as sweeps of large crescendos within these scores come off with a sort of widescreen grandeur. This SACD version does not contain any additional music over the original 1998 release, but puts forward this important recording of light music in better sound than ever before.