Sullivan without Gilbert:
Sullivan comic and serious. This compilation
of overtures from seven of the comic
operas and two, more serious, concert
works is one of those collections that
will sell itself according to the list
of contents. As with all the albums
in the Decca British Music Collection,
this one is a reissue, this time of
an recording presumably issued on the
Philips label in 1992 - I say presumably
because the rather cursory notes in
this 8-page booklet give no recording
details other than – ‘© 1992 Philips
Classics Productions’.
Marriner delivers engaging
performances, finely shaded and nicely
detailed. The comic overtures parade
all their familiar melodies all combining
rumbustious and plaintively romantic
elements and Sullivan’s delicious irony,
plus: the irresistible exuberance of
The Gondoliers, the rollicking
Jack Tar music for HMS Pinafore
and The Pirates of Penzance,
sombreness and pomp for the more serious
The Yeoman of the Guard, Mendelsohnnian-like
gossamer fairy music for Iolanthe,
the mock-exotic and gorgeous absurdities
of The Mikado and the rustic
gaiety of Patience.
Of the concert overtures,
Sullivan’s Macbeth Overture (1888)
probes into more shadowy corners but
even here lightness persists in trying
to break through; for instance, the
witches dance is anything but threatening,
rather one might imagine Mendelssohn’s
fairies than evil old crones. Sullivan’s
Overture di Ballo, at 11½ minutes
or so, the longest item in the programme,
was composed for the Birmingham Triennial
Festival of 1870. Formal in design,
it comprises a stately polonaise, central
waltz and a concluding gallop. Marriner
captures its glamour and rhythmic verve,
and the phrasing of the Academy strings
is particularly beautiful
Engaging performances
of an attractive compilation of Sullivan
overtures – comic and serious.
Ian Lace
Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Sir Neville
Marriner 