This latest instalment
in the Naxos cycle of Alwyn’s symphonies
is most impressive.
In both of these symphonies
David Lloyd-Jones faces competition
from the composer himself, in his Lyrita
recordings from the 1970s, and from
Richard Hickox’s Chandos cycle, which
I have not heard. In the case of the
First Symphony there is also now a fascinating
disc from Dutton (CDSJB 1029), which
couples recordings from the early 1950s
of the first two symphonies under Barbirolli.
That disc, which is a limited edition,
is, I’d suggest, an essential purchase
for any admirer of Alwyn’s music
The opportunity to
review this Naxos newcomer has prompted
me to listen again to the composer’s
own recordings. These are only available
from Harold Moores and come at full
price – and the First and Third are
not coupled together. However, it seems
to me that the Alwyn recordings enjoy
two clear advantages over this newcomer.
One is the splendid playing he obtains
from the London Philharmonic Orchestra,
which is even finer and richer than
the very good playing offered by the
RLPO. The other is that, rather surprisingly,
the Lyrita sound, though analogue and
some three decades older than the digital
Naxos production, is superb and, to
my ears at least, superior to the newcomer.
There’s another area
in which Alwyn’s own interpretations
may or may not score over Lloyd-Jones’s
fine readings, depending on your point
of view. Time and again in making comparisons
I found that Alwyn was that bit more
spacious and weighty than Lloyd-Jones
and, on balance I preferred the composer’s
view; other listeners may well take
a different view.
Though I’m always wary
of simple comparisons of overall timings,
on this occasion they are instructive.
Alwyn’s recording of the First symphony
takes 41:18 whereas the Lloyd-Jones
reading occupies 38:29. Fleeter than
both is Barbirolli, whose urgent, white-hot
interpretation flashes by in 35:57,
the differences between him and Lloyd-Jones
being confined mainly to the first and
last movements. I think it may be no
coincidence that the Barbirolli performance
was set down in June 1952, just under
two years after the conductor, to whom
the work was dedicated, had led the
première at the 1950 Cheltenham
Festival. With Barbirolli I don’t think
it’s too fanciful to suggest that one
is hearing the recreation of a very
new piece, of which he was beginning
the performing tradition. Alwyn, by
contrast, recorded the work in about
1977 (Lyrita give no precise recording
date), when he would have been in his
early seventies and, perhaps more relevantly,
had lived with the music, as it were,
since he composed it in 1948/9. Lloyd-Jones,
arguably, comes to the work completely
fresh.
The first movement
opens in quiet mystery but swiftly grows
in intensity, the music moving imperceptibly
into a turbulent, energetic allegro.
Northern landscapes and the influence
of Sibelius seem to be suggested. There
follows a warmly lyrical andante
espressivo, led by the strings
with the horns in the background. This
is most effectively done on the Naxos
disc. The music builds to an heroic
climax, featuring superb horn parts.
The last few minutes, before a quiet
conclusion, are very confident and grand;
one would hardly guess that this was
the composer’s first symphonic utterance.
Barbirolli doesn’t match Lloyd-Jones
at the start in terms of mystery, probably
because his recorded sound is less good.
But overall I find JB to be more urgent
and thrusting in this movement. The
composer is easily the most spacious.
In his hands, the afore-mentioned andante
espressivo section is beautifully
rich. The LPO horns ring out superbly
for Alwyn at around 9:00 and there’s
a Baxian splendour to the main climax
that follows.
The boisterous scherzo
fares well in all three recordings.
Note the rollicking horn theme, a passage
of splendid dash, which all three conductors
relish though, inevitably, it’s reported
least ardently in the elderly Barbirolli
recording. As I say, all three conductors
do this movement well. However, the
composer adopts a slightly broader tempo
and while some may well prefer a quicker
pulse in such music I find that he conveys
just a touch more bite and definition.
The slow movement is essentially an
extended song with a short, more urgent
central section. Lloyd-Jones is completely
convincing here. Indeed, all three conductors
convey the warmth and the generous lyrical
nature of the music very well.
The finale is boisterous
and ebullient. Alwyn described it as
"probably the most extrovert piece
I have ever written." It’s strongly
projected by Lloyd-Jones and the RLPO
in a performance that has real verve
and drive. Barbirolli almost scampers
through the music and I warmed to his
extrovert handling of the movement.
The composer is certainly not outshone
in this company. He’s slightly more
deliberate in pacing at the outset but
he excels in the last few minutes of
the score, which are particularly exciting
and uplifting in his hands.
Pressed to sum up the
three rival recordings I’d say that
Barbirolli gives us the surge of something
new. The composer has a bit more gravitas
and, of course, authority. Lloyd-Jones
sets a very convincing middle course.
When it comes to the
Third, which was the first music of
Alwyn’s that I ever got to know, when
his recording came out on a Lyrita LP,
I can only compare the composer and
the newcomer, since I haven’t heard
Richard Hickox’s version. This symphony
contains music that makes an immediate
impact. There’s another Barbirolli link
here for he was scheduled to conduct
the first performance. In the event
he was indisposed and Beecham took over.
I wonder what Beecham’s performance
was like since, to me, it’s not the
sort of music that I’d necessarily associate
with him. Alwyn described the music
as "stormy and passionate".
Again, his own reading takes a little
longer than the new Lloyd-Jones offering:
Alwyn’s traversal lasts 32:49 while
the newcomer takes 30:21.
The first of the three
movements opens in turbulence. There’s
a strong rhythmic impulse to the music,
a trait that we shall find characterising
much of the score as a whole. Even when
the music becomes quieter there’s still
great energy. Indeed, I find the passages
where the energy is more suppressed
are often the most effective. It’s a
very powerful movement and Lloyd-Jones
handles it most convincingly. Again,
the composer has the advantage of splendid
analogue sound – quite superb, in fact
– and a fine orchestra playing for him
with great commitment. He brings a notable
degree of weight and bite to the music.
The thematic material
of the second movement is fairly simple.
At times there’s a definite feeling
of menace abroad in the passages where
the rhythmic punch is especially pronounced.
The last few pages, with the woodwind
– especially the cor anglais – gently
intoning against a background of strings
are quite eerie. Alwyn’s reading is
perhaps a shade bleaker than Lloyd-Jones’s
at the start, rewardingly so. Later
on, the LPO string section has additional
richness and weight as compared with
their (very good) Liverpool colleagues
and I find that this factor is telling.
Drive and energy are
once again well to the fore right from
the start of the finale. At times, when
the music is being propelled onwards
against an intense and implacable one-note
ostinato underneath, one is reminded
of ‘Mars’ from Holst’s Planets,
albeit the pulse of Alwyn’s music is
appreciably quicker. The Naxos performance
has real vigour and Lloyd-Jones does
well to sustain this, for although the
music does draw breath from time to
time these occasions are fleeting and
the forward movement soon resumes. From
around 7:00 in this performance the
music becomes slower and more romantic,
though without sacrificing any power.
These pages might have been written
for Barbirolli – what one would not
give for a recording by him to emerge
from some archive. At 11:49, just when
you think that the symphony is drawing
peacefully to a close there’s one last
brief eruption to bring the work to
a very strong conclusion. In this movement
Alwyn’s own tempi tend to be a touch
more expansive than those adopted by
Lloyd-Jones but his account is no less
trenchant than the newcomer and, indeed,
the degree of extra weight in his performance
brings its own rewards. Alwyn, I think,
finds just a little more repose and
romantic expressiveness in the extended
wind-down towards the end.
I’ve tried to bring
out what, for me, are the differences
between these different performances.
However, even though I may prefer Lloyd-Jones’s
rivals in certain respects I should
make it clear that he and the RLPO deliver
satisfying and wholly convincing readings
of both of these fine scores. I would
not presume to suggest that Alwyn’s
or Barbirolli’s readings are more "definitive"
– whatever that might mean. Each conductor
offers a slightly different approach.
However, I think it’s a measure of the
success of each version that I find
them convincing while listening to them
and, indeed, even when noting the differences
in direct comparisons I find that each
has its own validity. It’s just appropriate,
I think, to draw attention to the choice
that’s available. .
That said, for many
collectors the choice will be clear
cut since the Alwyn and Barbirolli versions
may not be quite so easy to get hold
of as those on Naxos and, of course,
one could acquire the whole Naxos cycle
on three CDs for about the same cost
of just one of the two Lyrita discs
that contain Alwyn’s whole cycle. Happily,
however, it’s not a question of mere
economics; the Lloyd-Jones performances,
both on this CD and on its companion
containing the Second and Fifth symphonies,
are wholly recommendable, irrespective
of price. If you haven’t got any of
Alwyn’s symphonies in your collection
then I do urge you to sample his music
and this CD is an excellent place to
start. If you fall under his spell then
you’ll certainly want to investigate
the composer’s own versions, which have
a unique distinction and authority.
And the Barbirolli disc should be heard
by all admirers either of Alwyn or of
Glorious John.
The Naxos documentation
is good. However, it contains one glaring
and disappointing omission. The short
note about the orchestra seems to list
virtually every Principal Conductor
in the RLPO’s history with the exception
of Sir Charles Groves. This is a most
unfortunate oversight when one recalls
the sterling work that he did on Merseyside
and it’s doubly unfortunate when the
release is one of English music, of
which Sir Charles was such a consistent
and doughty champion. I hope Naxos will
set this right in future releases featuring
Groves’s old orchestra.
A most rewarding issue,
which I recommend strongly.
John Quinn
See also reviews by Rob
Barnett and Jonathan
Woolf
William
Alwyn Web-pages
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/David Lloyd-Jones
