SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND

Although the opening Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture is beguilingly Romantic—a most attractive performance—I found myself returning to the superbly recorded Tam O'Shanter with its whisky-sodden climax, complete with orchestral bagpipes—an orchestral tour de force—and the engaging MacCunn piece, with its delectably unforgettable lyrical theme and unashamed sense of melodrama. . . . [I]f [Gibson's] Berlioz pacing is too fast, it is certainly exhilarating. On CD the sound is even more vivid than on LP and both Tam O'Shanter and the Land of the Mountain and the Flood are in the demonstration bracket. -- Ivan March, Gramophone