Vaughan Williams - Symphony 5 [Norrington-London Philharmonic Orchestra]

This disc is from the new-ish Virtuoso series, from the back catalogue of Decca and DG, on Amazon you can get some of these discs for a snip, some of them are very desirable indeed, this is one of the best, on the cover it gives the impression that this Fifth is by Marriner, the rest of the pieces are, but this one's from Norrington, this is only the second time i've played it, and i like it a lot already.

Roger Norrington is English, amazingly he's now 81, he recorded this in 1998, now the front cover is a marvellous shot, of a countryside swamped in mist, with layers of background trees, sunlight streaming through, all very grey / brown, it's such a nice shot, and goes well with the music on the disc.

The third movement Romanza is the spiritual centre of the work, and it's certainly my favourite movement, one of Vaughan Williams greatest creations, but on this listen i actually liked the first movement the best, Vaughan Williams calls it 'Preludio', it's a sweet yet sad refrain, high violins set the mood, against a backdrop of rumbling basses [0:00-3:27], no wonder it's called a 'preludio', it sounds like a perpetual prelude, forever about to move into into the main movement at any moment, only when the music changes tack / key [3:27+] do you realise that this is it!, those sweet high violins stay as the main stars throughout, roughly at the six minute mark there's a central section where the woodwind develop some strong / important playing, and with busy and furious strings [6:55+], the whole thing comes to a forte peak, before dying away and the opening starts again, there's this tremendously passionate section, where Vaughan Williams brings all the themes together in a powerful strong statement [8:38-9:51], the music dies away with the voices from the horns, it's a tremendous movement that can be overshadowed by the music to come, as i said it's only the second time i've listened to Norrington's reading, so it will take some more time to really reach an opinion.

Here's Andrew Manze conducting this Symphony on YouTube.

Various Composers - 'Pastoral' British Clarinet Music [Johnson/Martineau]

A well played disc, one that i've had for nearly 20 years, and yet this is its first appearance in my Blog, it's great to have a recital of clarinet music that features one aspect of it, there's a cohesion here, however some of the shorter trifles could have been ejected [the Bliss and Vaughan Williams vocal stuff], and filled with something more appropriate, the silky tones of the clarinet are wonderful to behold, if i was to take up an instrument, apart from the piano, it would either be the clarinet or the soprano saxophone [very similar], it works in Classical and Jazz perfectly, plus it's so easily portable, and works as a satisfying solo instrument too, i love the clarinet.

Emma Johnson is English, she's now 48, she recorded this disc in 1994, the booklet front cover is a black & white portrait [by Robert Barber], a wood in the background out of focus, of course the focuses all the more on the foreground, a half body shot, with Johnson holding her clarinet.

The three pieces that really got to me on this listen were the two solo movement works, Ireland's Fantasy Sonata, and Bliss's Pastoral, but the work that moved me the most was the darling little suite of English Folk Song Studies by Vaughan Williams, six pieces here lasting a little over nine minutes, Vaughan Williams was a champion of folk songs of England, and here he chooses six to set to Cello and Piano, however Clarinet players seem to have hijacked the piece, i hardly ever hear it played by other instruments now, so here's a synopsis of these six little pieces, with the original folk song they came from, 

1 Adagio / Lovely On The Water [1:48] - A slow piece as an introduction, using the deeper registers of the clarinet, while the piano slowly moves higher into the treble, towards the end there's a solo clarinet section. 
2 Andante Sostenuto / Spurn Poin [1:30] - Something more tuneful, and achingly so, and it's a beautiful duet, the way first the piano plays the tune higher in the treble, then the clarinet [0:37 & 0:44], and the piece ends ever so gently on a long note, [where 'sostenuto' in the title comes from].
3 Larghetto / Van Diemans Land [1:51] - A more ancient sounding melody, and the longest piece of the six, kept within the lower registers in the first half, but the second half has a tendency to soar.
4 Lento / She Borrowed Some Of Her Mothers Gold [1:22] - A more complex use of the clarinet, and the piano explodes into action [0:33+], at the end a very high sustained note.
5 Andante Tranquillo / The Lady And The Dragoon [1:30] - The most easily lyrical of the six, and my personal favourite by miles, it has the most gorgeous melody ever, played simply at first, very Irish sounding, but then added all sorts of complexities to it in such a wonderful way [0:30+], and even the piano gets a little solo while the clarinet accompanies [1:00+]. 
6 Allegro Vivace / As I Walked Over London Bridge [0:51] - The shortest of the six, and a finale of sorts, marked 'vivace', a skippy little tune, it bounces along in both the clarinet and piano in a staccato way, and it comes to an abrupt end on a piano note.

Vaughan Williams - Symphony 5 [Haitink-The London Philharmonic] 

Vaughan Williams Fifth is my favourite Symphony from him, it's actually the first one i heard [by Previn], and almost immediately i fell in love with it, there's a certain mystical pastoralness about the Symphony which i love, Haitink has been very slowly building a whole cycle of the Symphonies of RVW, and this is a lovely reading of it, with some nice couplings too, it's actually a disc i've had for a while [since 2001], and played it fairly extensively, and yet i feel i've hardly got into it, the good thing is that this Blog helps me to analyse deeper the works / interpretations i listen to, so i should be able to 'individualise' this disc more than ever.

Bernard Haitink is Dutch, he's now 83, and certainly now looks somewhat frail, he recorded this disc in 1994, the booklet front cover is a painting by Harold Speed called 'Country Scene With A Horse', very appropriate for the music within.

A truly beautiful Symphony, written in D Major, though very much couched in a degree of mystery, sounding more that it should be a Minor key Symphony, i can't help the feeling of the whole thing conjuring up a landscape scene, bathed in strange misty light, with a sense of a tinge of regret, especially the third movement Romanza [my favourite movement of the four], but on this listen it's the last movement which truly affected me, and it's good that i paid closer attention to it to notice how truly beautiful it really is, especially the closing pages, it takes your breath away, it starts so innocently, very gentle on the low cellos, but builds up with more layers, .

Here's on Andrew Manze conducting the whole of the Symphony on YouTube, the fourth movement starts at [30:40].

Vaughan Williams - Symphony 2 'London' [Thomson-London Symphony Orchestra] 

This is only the second time this work gets in my Blog, strange considering how well i love it, and it's with the same exact disc [12th April 2010], this is how i originally got to know this Symphony, by buying this disc, it's really become a favourite of mine, and in many ways it's a sort of darker twin of the 5th Symphony, i must also admit that i think Vaughan Williams was right to make cuts to the longer original version, though there is some nice music that was discarded.

Bryden Thomson was Scottish, 1928-1991, recording extensively for Chandos in cycles of Martinu, Nielsen, Bax, and here Vaughan Williams Symphonies, he recorded this disc in 1988, the front cover shows a painting by Turner called 'The Burning Of The Houses Of Parliament', a nice detail of a larger painting.

The second movement is a gorgeous Lento, supposedly meant to depict 'Bloomsbury Square on a November afternoon', but i can certainly think of a lot more descriptive places, it starts off as a low hum of quiet strings, but quickly the quiet is joined by a sad solo cor anglais [0:17+], it's so exactly the mood you just love about Vaughan Williams, the music meanders around the violins, the horns have a lovely muted section [1:40+ & 2:07+], i can just imagine Vaughan Williams as a painter, adding little touches of sound here and there, creating a wash of mood, there's a central 'trio section' where the music changes significantly [4:41-9:09], sounding a lot more pastoral, certainly slightly more upbeat, and there's a certain beat to the whole thing, i love the way the music blossoms out, and we're in 5th Symphony territory [6:20+ & 7:27+], and the music reaches some wonderful climaxes, the opening music comes back to haunt us again [9:09+].

Here's Marcelo Lehninger conducting the second movement Lento on YouTube.

Vaughan Williams - Symphony 5 [Gibson-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra] 

I can't believe that this is only the second time that this Symphony appears in my Blog, it's my favourite Vaughan Williams Symphony, it's the first one i ever heard [Previn / RCA], and it made a great impression on me, this is a nice 2 disc set, mainly from Paavo Berglund, except this work, it's actually the first time i've played it, i think in my ongoing search for the 'new', i'm neglecting the 'old', some of these old friends really hit you in the heart when you meet them again. 

Alexander Gibson is Scottish, 1926-1995, he recorded this work in 1982, the front booklet cover is very creative, a picture of a wasp's nest [photo by Tom Wenseleers], of course it's referencing 'The Wasps Overture', but it's well composed, very sharp for the subject matter, nice and colourful, the lettering in a square box in the middle, the logo makes a lovely dash of colour.

The third movement is so heavenly, there's a lovely hush at the start, very spiritual, and the cor anglais refrain just adds to the goosebumps mood [0:38-1:03], the slow build up really pays dividends as it naturally blossoms out, there's a wonderful pastoral mood as all the woodwinds have a turn, flute, oboe, and clarinet [2:11-2:35], the oboe and cor anglais duet is well done [4:38+], and then it's rounded out by the flute and clarinet, wow, i just love those shimmering strings [6:47+], that's the best little section i heard today, the central section seems to have music that is a little more sour, but it's nicely offset by the opening returning sweet, right at the end there's a lovely quiet offstage trumpet [11:35-11:56], which brings the movement to a melancholy close, now that's the very best of Vaughan Williams.

Here's Vernon Handley playing the third movement Romanza on YouTube.

Vaughan Williams / Jacob - Variations For Orchestra [Marriner-Academy Of Saint Martin In The Fields]

A very enlightening disc, some of these works i know very well [Tallis Fantasia], others i enjoyed renewing the acquaintance of [Norfolk Rhapsody], and yet others i found thrilling to really listen to for the first time [Variations For Orchestra], it's a nice mixed bag from Vaughan Williams, something for everyone, and it's surprising that discs of the shorter works of this Composer are not more available, i can feel this disc is going to get played a lot more in the future.

Neville Marriner is 90 this April, a phenomenal servant to Classical music, influencing many people, though i'm not sure how active he is today, he recorded this disc in 1993, the front cover is of a windmill [photo by Den Reader], i take it representing the Fen's of Norfolk, two compositions on this disc, it's a glorious sunset silhouette.

Vaughan Williams - Oboe Concerto [Nicklin/Marriner-The Academy Of Saint Martin In The Fields]

I like the idea behind this disc, a collection of the lesser known Orchestral works of Vaughan Williams, he is justly famed for his nine Symphonies, his major statements, especially the 2nd, 5th, and 6th, and certainly his two concertante pieces The Lark Ascending and the Tallis Fantasia are also well known, but this collection brings together some of the other pieces, and it's was good for me to get to know them better today.

Neville Marriner is now 87, still conducting the ASMF, he's English, and it's fitting having a very English Conductor, with a very English Composer on the disc, and a very English Painter on the front cover, Constable's The Hay Wain is an inspired choice, a tremendous painting, it hangs in the National Gallery in London, i've been in there and seen it, it's really huge, six feet long, and over four feet tall, the wording and lettering are nicely placed, and there's a sort of 'feel' for the music and the painting, as if they go together, the Oboe Concerto was recorded in 1979.

On this listen i really enjoyed the Concerto Grosso and the Oboe Concerto, i have a new appreciation for both, they each have some wonderful ideas, and they're certainly not second rate Vaughan Williams as i at first thought, i was especially touched by the Oboe Concerto, with Celia Nicklin as the soloist, Vaughan Williams wasn't exactly renowned for his Concertos [though i have a soft spot for his Piano Concerto], they always seem to be short and pithy, but his Oboe Concerto repays repeated and intensive listening.

Here's Catherine Kim playing the third movement on YouTube.