Back in 1975, when
this sort of repertoire was still rarer
on disc than gold dust, Sir Charles
Groves and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
set down for EMI
a programme basically similar to
this, with Bridge’s early, middle and
late periods neatly represented by "The
Sea", "Summer" and "Enter
Spring" and placed in chronological
order, the sort of weirdly logical thing
people sometimes still did in those
days, poor misguided souls (Naxos has
them back to front). Whereas the Naxos
disc adds the "Two Poems",
Groves’s programme was completed by
the charming "Cherry Ripe"
and the poignantly moving "Lament".
It was an ideal introduction to Bridge
and remained one of Sir Charles’s best-loved
discs; always a warm-hearted and vital
conductor, he showed his empathy with
this music in countless touches of phrasing
and general pacing.
Judd and his engineers
have given Bridge a smoother surface.
The performances are certainly very
well prepared and seemingly appreciative
of the music and I hope it not just
familiarity with the Groves performances
which leads me to find inferior what
I should be finding simply different.
All the same, when the rising horn octave
near the beginning of "The Sea"
is present in Judd but not given that
little emphasis which makes it stir
your soul, when the rustlings at the
opening of "Summer" are further
forward with Judd but the gradual awakenings
in the wind are further back and less
characterful, I am bound to feel that
Judd’s response to the music is less
deeply-rooted than Groves’s. It is interesting
that Groves is more passionately forward
moving in "The Sea" and, though
marginally, "Summer", while
adopting a slightly more expansive gait
in "Enter Spring" – and each
time he seems to be right; though to
be fair, the only occasion where I found
Judd unsatisfactory (as opposed to less
satisfactory) was in the first movement
of "The Sea", which lasts
7:25 against Groves’s 6:21 and sounds
static (is this why Naxos preferred
not to place it at the beginning of
the programme?).
All this is very unfortunate
for Judd who has really done an extremely
good job, but the Groves record is something
of a classic. I fell in love with this
music through it and, while I enjoyed
the Judd, coming back to Groves after
a longish period I found it rekindling
my first sensations so if you don’t
know Bridge this should be your starting
point.
And if you really don’t
know Bridge … here are timbres and melodies
to haunt you, here is passion as well
as poetry, strength as well as delicacy,
fantasy but also formal balance. If
you are not resistant to a post-romantic,
post-impressionist style, do make sure
you hear it.
Christopher Howell
see also reviews
by John
France and Rob
Barnett
This disc was July
Bargain of the
Month
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra/James Judd 