Well, I like the music of Carlos Chavez very much, especially the Sinfonia de Antigona, which has a Havergal Brian type cragginess to it, which appeals to me. Geoffrey Simon's 'Sacred Service' is indeed the best and I have about 6 recordings of that work. It is usually compared adversely with Bernstein, but I prefer it. The other great performance of the Sacred Servis is by Bloch himself (Pearl and Jewish Music Archive). I had some email correspondence with Dalia Atlas (whom I don't know) about Bloch's Symphony in C., which is one of my favourite works by him. Her 'Israel Symphony' is indeed the best recorded performance, although I like the old Abravanel.
On the subject of Abravanel, this new release (of old material) is an excellent introduction to Bloch and includes Abravanel's deeply moving performance of the 'Sacred Service' which I didn't know he had ever recorded. I'm listening to Chavez Symphony 1 at the moment and a section toards the end reminded me very much of Bloch, which brings me back to where I started 
Chavez is quite good. The first work I heard by him was "Sinfonia India (Symphony No. 2)" with Eduardo Mata at the podium. Remarkable performance and this led me to explore more of his music. One thing that attracted me to "Sinfonia India" was it's use of shifting tempi. I also love the use of percussion in this piece. Very interesting and nothing cliche about it.
Getting back to Bloch, I ordered a recording with Sakari Oramo/Malmo Symphony Orch. on BIS performing "Violin Concerto," "Poems of the Sea," and "Suite Symphonique." This recording is out-of-print, but I look forward to hearing it. Right now, I'm just becoming more familiar with Bloch's music and I already own a very impressive collection, but in time I will expand it and start looking for comparitive recordings and so on.
Anyway, thanks for your recommendation. I have seen that 2-CD set on Amazon for a good price. I might pick it up at some point.
