The energy in the Peasants’ Merrymaking and Storm is fiercely controlled, and the final Thanksgiving, if also on the fast side, moves steadily towards its conclusion, with colourful sonorities and a balanced texture.

Honeck and his musicians have given us an energetic, colorful, often surprising, and frequently soul-stirring day in the country. They play the “Pastoral” as if it were an old master painting recently cleaned to remove dirty layers of varnish and discreetly touched up, here and there, to repair paint loss and minor damage to the canvas.

This Pastoral delivers something to outrage partisans of every stripe...Strongly recommended, provided you are up for an interpretation with a capital I.