This most welcome disc
gathers together and restores to circulation
a number of vintage Boult performances.
In passing it’s interesting to note
how many of his assignments for Lyrita
consisted of short pieces though he
was still doing big works in concerts
and in the recording studios at the
time. By recording him in such works,
however, Lyrita helpfully – and probably
deliberately – filled in a number of
gaps in his discography. I’m not aware
that he otherwise recorded any of the
works in this collection yet all the
performances are welcome and, at their
best, treasurable.
Rob Barnett has commented
in his
review that the recordings of the
Bridge items, being later in provenance,
have a somewhat warmer sound. I wouldn’t
disagree. However, what struck me on
listening through the disc is the overall
consistency of the collection. Throughout
the programme the LPO is on excellent
form and so is Boult.
He brings his special
authority in English music to the two
most substantial works. Ireland’s Concertino
Pastorale is a fine and most enjoyable
work. After an introduction to the first
movement that is broodingly pensive
the rest of that movement is delightfully
fresh and, indeed, pastoral. As note
writer Harold Rutland says, the second
movement, entitled ‘Threnody’ taps Ireland’s
"most characteristic vein of reflective
lyricism". Boult shapes this lovely
music with care and affection. The concluding
Toccata pulses with vitality.
The notes for the Bridge
items are by John Bishop and he avers
that the Suite for string
orchestra deserves to be played
far more often, perhaps as an alternative
to some of the more established English
string masterpieces. I think that’s
a very fair comment and Boult’s dedicated
reading makes the relative neglect of
this work seem inexplicable. The first
movement sings wonderfully. It’s fine
music which, as Bishop says, has echoes
of Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings.
In the delightfully buoyant Intermezzo
Boult gets his players to articulate
the rhythms splendidly so that the music
skips and dances. The Nocturne is the
heart of the piece. This is deep music
and it finds Boult at his best. After
that the energetic finale bursts with
life and a sense of well-being. All
in all Boult and the LPO give us a splendid
performance of this underrated work.
The remainder of the
programme consists of pieces that are
on a smaller scale. All receive first
class performances and, typically, Boult
pays each of them – and his listeners
- the compliment of treating every work
on the disc, no matter how modest in
scale, on an equal footing. I particularly
warmed to his winning performance of
Ireland’s Downland Suite. Though
billed as such it consists of just two
of the four movements of the 1932 suite
for brass band. Ireland arranged these
two movements for string orchestra in
1941, the same year in which he made
his string orchestra version of The
Holy Boy. Incidentally, I wonder
how many Christmas pieces down the ages
were actually composed on 25 December
itself: writing this little carol was
Ireland’s Christmas Day diversion in
1913.
Among the Bridge miniatures
the standout item is Lament,
a deeply felt response to the 1915 sinking
of the Lusitania. Short this
piece may be, but it’s highly charged
too and Boult does it beautifully. He
shows a deft hand in the arrangements
of Sally in our Alley,
Cherry Ripe and Sir Roger
de Coverley. It’s this last piece
that provides a merry conclusion to
this highly enjoyable programme.
I’m delighted to welcome
these fine, cultivated performances
back to the catalogue. In these recordings
Boult shows his mastery of the English
repertoire just as surely as in his
versions of much bigger symphonic works
by the likes of Elgar and Vaughan Williams.
This is a rewarding release.
John Quinn
See
also review by Rob Barnett
for details
London
Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Adrian Boult
