DEBUSSY La mer. Nocturnes. Orchestre de Paris conducted by Daniel Barenboim, item marked * with women's voices of the Orchestra de Paris Chorus. DG 2531 056 (4435). La mer—selected comparison: New Phllh, Boulez (7/67) 72533 In "De l'aube a midi sur Ia mer", the first movement of La riser, Barenboim obtains refined, quite persuasive, playing from the Orchestre de Paris, but this and the finale, "Dialogue du vent et de la mer", do not have, for me at least, the sheer urgency of Pierre Boulez's CBS reading. We are offered pretty pictures rather than one of the earliest landmarks of twentieth century music (although Barenboim is more cogent in the central movement, "Jeux de vagues"). At first I resisted Boulez's view of Debussy but I have since come to regard his interpretations, particularly of La mer, as being nothing less than profound, and even Barenboim's greatest admirers would not claim, I think, that this new account of the work is likely to mark a comparable advance in our understanding. Both the CBS and the DG recordings are excellent -although the general orchestral timbre is more astringent on the former, and appropriately so; it is hard to determine, however, whether this is to the credit of the conductor, the New Philharmonia, or the recording engineers. The couplings of Boulez's performance, which I wholeheartedly recommend, are Debussy's Prelude a l'apris-midi d'un faune and Jeux, his last, greatest, though also his most elusive, orchestral masterpiece. Barenboim does considerably better in all three Nocturnes, which are much less complex in their impact on the listener. Although it is a bit passive, "Nuages" has some lovely sounds, and "Fetes", an item that clearly suits him, is very lively. "Sirènes", a piece that can easily seem pale and indecisive, is particularly beautiful, with some fine singing from the ladies' chorus. M.H.