WEILL: “Down in the Valley,” “Der Jasager.”...

WEILL: “Down in the Valley,” “Der Jasager.” Ilana Davidson, Marc Acito, Tobias Schmeisser, Hilke Heiling; Fredonia Chamber Singers; Kammerchor der Universitat Dortmund; Orchester Cantat 90, conducted by Willi Gundlach. Capriccio 60 021. These two short music theater works form a satisfying entry in Capriccio’s important Weill series. Bertolt Brecht adapted a Japanese Noh play for the 1930 school opera “He Who Says Yes.” Weill’s pungent, simple melodies and the foursquare rhythms frame a parable of self-sacrifice. Another school opera, “Down in the Valley,” derives from the composer’s final American period--the piece was introduced in 1948 at Indiana University--and exudes an appealing folksiness. Despite the piece’s appeal to amateur musicians, it’s all terribly self-conscious (Arnold Sungaard’s libretto can take much of the blame), but the performances here (recorded in conjunction with a 1990 Weill festival) should engage. Note that the text of “Der Jasager” comes in German only.