Bantock - Celtic Symphony [Handley-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]Now this was such a wonderful experience today, a Symphony for just strings [plus six harps], it has a wonderful glow to it, lasts nearly 20 minutes, is divided into five sections, however it's really in one long movement, in my mind 'symphony' is a misnomer, really it's more of a fantasia akin to Vaughan Williams Tallis Fantasia, which it's most similar to, i played this same work last year, and wrote about it in my Blog [26th May 2010], again i have to say that it's in the top five all time favourite discs of mine, a phenomenal achievement for an 'off the beaten track' composer, it's a shame all his other works aren't of the same calibre.
Vernon Handley passed away almost three years ago, a great loss to the Classical world, he championed British works, and many works had their recording premiere under him, he recorded this disc in 1990, the front cover shows the painting 'Morning after a stormy night' by Johan Christian Clausen Dahl.
Well all of this Symphony is so inspired, non more so than the opening, which keeps coming back again and again, it's beauty is indescribable, it really transports me away to a better world, the start is soft pulsating high strings [0:00-0:20], like floating out of some strange mist, truly beautiful, the harps strum in as the strings continue their song [0:20-0:39], and it's when the beginning repeats itself in a hushed manner [1:20-1:57] that the magic is complete, what a phenomenal beginning to a musical work!.
