MUSIC AND DANCE

HARRIS: “Symphony 1933”; Symphony No. 3. FOOTE: Suite in E for strings. COPLAND: “El Salon Mexico.” McDONALD: “San Juan Capistrano.” Boston Symphony, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky. Pearl GEMM CD 9492. This is an incredible time capsule from an era and place where American music was nurtured and encouraged as it rarely has been since. Here are the pioneering recordings of the great, tightly wound Symphony No. 3 and hard-nosed “Symphony 1933” of Roy Harris, along with the sometimes tentative yet spirited first recording of “El Salon Mexico,” Arthur Foote’s sturdy, neoclassical suite, and Harl McDonald’s rather sugary tone poem. The transfers of these 1934-to-1940-vintage 78s are mostly satisfactory, though the live recording of “Symphony 1933” is distant and hampered by glitches in the originals.