RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Symphony No. 5 in D (1938-43) [38:47]
Symphony No. 8 in D minor (1953-55)* [29:17]
Hallé Orchestra/Sir Mark Elder
rec. live and in rehearsal, 9 November 2011, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester;
*3 February 2012, BBC Studios, Media City UK, Salford
HALLÉ HLL CD 7533 [68:21]
Mark Elder’s is the most satisfying performance of RVW’s Symphony 5 that I’ve
heard. Why? For me it’s because he gets the tempi just right. He isn’t afraid
to be unhurried and yet at the same time a flowing, forward pulse is always
apparent. You get a sense of smooth evolution and natural progression. This
is balanced with clarity of structure. You also realize how much of an open
air symphony this is. The Hallé’s playing and the recording are also very
fine and therefore the whole atmosphere is bright, shining, luminous.
In the opening movement (tr. 1) Elder finds an appreciative, not simply cosy,
tranquillity, knowing what it is not to be tranquil. You can savour the sheeny
assurance of the second theme (3:03): the ‘Alleluia’ from RVW’s hymn ‘For
all the saints’. Come the development (4:50) their gossamer strings contrast
with ominous woodwind. Its raw climax seems not so much a storm as the trials
of life to be faced before the calm of the recapitulation and the radiant
climax of the second theme. I can imagine Elder saying to his brass ‘Breathe
as much as you like earlier on but I want you really loud here’. Probably
he didn’t need to but I’m sharing with you a moment from his rehearsals of
Britten’s Sinfona da Requiem in July 2012 with the Aldeburgh World
Orchestra.
Both this CD’s symphonies were first recorded by the Hallé with John Barbirolli,
Symphony No. 5 in 1944 (Dutton CDBP 9731). In the opening movement JB relies
on a conviction of momentum, an inner fire whereas Elder stands back and lets
things evolve. JB’s development is more elemental, its climax more frenzied.
His second theme climax is glows in the sun but lacks Elder’s sense of nurtured
fulfilment.
Elder’s Scherzo second movement (tr. 2) is alert and perky, sleek
and fresh. Out of its opening mystery come sudden flashes of strings and woodwind
colour. The first Trio (1:46) is formed gradually from bumbling in
the brass and lower woodwind. The second Trio (3:20) has more bounce:
a merry bluster until it dissolves as if in an almost inexhaustible yawn.
How well Elder lets us appreciate the wonderfully deft orchestration. His
Presto is not as fast as Barbirolli’s (5:04 against 4:20) but this
is to advantage, for Elder’s opening is busy rather than hectic. The relaxed
close is also more appreciable, albeit JB have a more twinkling sense of mischief
and a racier, more raucous Trio 2. To the Romanza (tr. 3)
Elder brings a hushed opening, an eloquently contemplative cor anglais solo
and a profound density of elegiac strings. It’s assured, gently tinged, not
specially coloured yet deeply felt. The central woodwind arabesques are bracingly
savoured yet the development (5:44) progresses to a searing realization of
crisis. This is resolved by the warmth and certainty of affirmation that comes
with the recapitulation. Barbirolli is faster in this movement too (11:16
against 12:17). This brings more dramatic sweep, less contemplation, more
deliberate setting down and a reduced sense of unfolding of statement by comparison
with Elder. In the Passacaglia finale (tr. 4) the counter-theme (0:12)
ultimately proves more significant than the opening ground bass. It’s begun
benignly by Elder in a calm of easy momentum yet his early variations soon
show rhythmic teeth. A more festive second phase ensues (1:43) and a more
troubled third one (3:30). The coda brings the return of the symphony’s opening
now in a blaze of splendour. The warmth of the counter-melody triumphs and
is made more personal by being taken up by several solo instruments. Elder
presents all of this with lucidity and great assurance. Again Barbirolli is
faster (9:10 against 9:59). This brings a purposeful sweep which, for all
that, sounds rather hasty in comparison with Elder. JB’s coda is equally serene
but not as warm.
RVW called the opening movement of Symphony 8 (tr. 5) ‘seven variations in
search of a theme’. To the first Elder brings a nonchalant start but then
a passionate outburst as part of the natural order of things. His Variation
2 (1:47) has energy and lightness but also a steely spikiness. The latter
allows more contrast for the expansive relaxation of Variation 3 (2:49) which
in turn makes for a smooth transition to a contemplative approach to Variation
4 (4:50). Steadiness remains in Variation 5 (6:25) before an arrestingly faster
Variation 6 (7:58). The brakes come on again for Variation 7 (8:24) which
brings back the melody of Variation 3, now with trumpets glowingly to the
fore.
Barbirolli is the dedicatee of this symphony and recorded it in 1956 (Barbirolli
Society CDSJB 1021). He’s faster in the first movement, 10:10 against
Elder’s 10:54. This gives it more animation. His Variation 1 has more humour.
His Variation 2 is more waspish. I find Elder’s slower Variation 3 more satisfying
but JB makes a good case for its return as Variation 7 to be gentler early
on yet retaining the feel of a summation.
Elder’s Scherzo second movement for wind instruments wears its virtuosity
easily yet with appreciable clarity. It is pacy but also jolly. The Trio
which Elder takes at a leisurely Andante is a refreshingly cool pastoral
escape. Barbirolli makes less of a contrast in tempo here. This spells a reduced
sense of release yet brings more humour to his slightly slower, less sheerly
snazzy Scherzo. The Cavatina third movement for strings
alone (tr. 7) is marked Lento espressivo. Elder, taking 9:18, stresses
its measured quality. Barbirolli, taking 7:43 emphasises its expressive qualities.
With Elder you get a sense of smooth elegiac reflection, a seamless melodic
line that keeps turning in on itself. This emerges first from the cellos fully
exploiting their wide compass, then from rhapsodizing violins. This precedes
a passage of stately repose in all the strings. In the central interlude (4:01)
a solo violin breaks free and encourages an airier, more ardent and optimistic
phase. After this Elder’s recapitulation seems sullen in the lower strings
albeit offset by the calm of the upper strings. Yet what a richness of string
texture there is to appreciate. Barbirolli is earnest and heart-on-sleeve.
His passage of repose is less poised though his interlude gains fire at this
faster tempo. JB’s recapitulation is ominous, his upper strings more troubled,
his closing cello solo more heartfelt than Elder’s more distilled purity of
line.
Elder makes the Toccata finale (tr. 8) a sonorous celebration, enjoying
its showcasing of tuned gongs and glockenspiel. This rondo’s closing blaze
of triumph is only won after the negotiation of some tricky episodes. The
first (1:17) just threatens to disturb. The second (2:19), more strident,
and the third (3:10), more visionary and optimistic, find the rondo itself
changing to assimilate their points of view. Elder stands back and gives us
a clear view of these transformations. Barbirolli, again a little faster (4:59
against Elder’s 5:17) has greater energy and jollity with a decidedly dramatic
first episode, a scary second and a third which seems from an even more rarefied
world. The glory of this CD from Elder is that it offers a consistent and
sustained appreciation of the reflective aspects of these RVW symphonies.
Michael Greenhalgh
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also review by John Quinn and Michael
Cookson
A consistent and sustained appreciation of the reflective aspects of these
RVW symphonies.