DOWNLOAD REVIEW
Immediately prior to listening to this recording,
I played through the award-winning Naxos version (Royal Scottish
National Orchestra/David Lloyd-Jones, 8.554509), the obvious
comparison for anyone not wishing to buy the newer, full-price
Chandos Vernon Handley recording. I cannot disagree with a single
word of the praise that has been bestowed on this Naxos version,
which I have listened to with pleasure since I bought it several
years ago.
Lloyd-Jones offers a brisker version of the first
movement (17:13 against Thomson’s slightly more leisurely 17:32).
Which you prefer will depend on whether you like the tighter,
slightly more symphonic approach on Naxos or the slightly more
meandering Chandos version. Put crudely, Lloyd-Jones always
has his eye on the goal, Thomson is more inclined to savour
the magic of individual passages. As Bax dedicated the work
to Sibelius, there is much to be said for the tighter approach
but ultimately I am very happy with either version in its own
terms.
In the slow movement Thomson is again a little
too inclined to savour the moment but once more there is very
little to choose between the two versions. Lloyd-Jones is again
a shade brisker (11:15 against 11:24: after all, the lento
marking is modified, poco lento) and perhaps a degree
more evocative of the music of the dedicatee, Sibelius. Thomson
is slightly more inclined to view the scenery along the route,
but what wonderful scenery it is – and I don’t wish to suggest
that Lloyd-Jones is oblivious to its charms like some latter-day
Dr Johnson, who drew the curtains of his carriage windows to
avoid seeing the rugged scenery on his visit to Scotland.
Lloyd-Jones is also much brisker in the poco
moderato finale (12:34 against 13:43) but I never felt that
Thomson was dawdling. Once again, both interpretations make
excellent sense within their own terms. Thomson’s account of
the Epilogue is especially stirring. In his review of the Lloyd-Jones
version, my colleague IL felt that he really scored over Thomson
in this movement, finding the latter slow and rambling – see
review.
Overall, however, though he felt that the newer version superseded
the older, I can certainly echo his comment that “there are
great moments in Thomson’s reading that I will always treasure”.
The newer Vernon Handley version shaves time off
even Lloyd-Jones’s timings in all three movements (15:46, 10:12
and 11:48). I didn’t have this version to hand for comparison
but, from recollection of hearing it broadcast some time ago
on BBC Radio 3, it never sounds unduly hasty. On CD the Handley
version is available only in the complete set but may be downloaded
disc by disc, good value at £8.40 in mp3 format or £10 for the
lossless version – coupled with the Sixth Symphony, 73:51 in
total.
The choice of coupling
may decide the issue. Naxos offer a
fine version of The Tale the Pine-Trees
Knew, Chandos the Russian Suite.
Baxians may well already own a version
of The Tale but not the Russian
Suite. The Russian Suite
is hardly in the class of The Tale
but it is pleasant enough music and
it receives a good performance here.
Handley’s coupling of the whole of the
Sixth Symphony is, of course, the most
generous.
The Naxos recording is very good in its CD format
– I cannot speak for the mp3 version: see below for details.
The Chandos is perhaps slightly more diffuse but, like all the
320kbps Chandos downloads which I have recently heard, I can
find no real fault with it, whether on an mp3 player or burned
to CD. My Arcam Solo was a little fussy about playing the CD
– it is often very choosy about playing CDRs – and gave up after
playing the symphony, the first three tracks. Perhaps it thought
the Russian Suite too trivial, but my other decks gladly
obliged.
The Chandos notes, by Lewis Foreman, are excellent;
those by Nina Large for Naxos not quite their equal but fully
adequate. The Naxos cover is the more tasteful, the John Knox
painting very appropriate.
The Chandos is now available only as a download
at £6; the Naxos is available as a CD at around the same price
or to download from emusic (for less than £1 if you take the
50 tracks per month option) or £4.99 from Classicsonline. The
Chandos booklet of notes may be downloaded as a printable Adobe
pdf document. Neither emusic nor Classicsonline offers this
service, but the Naxos notes may be accessed from their own
website. Very generously both Chandos and Naxos make their notes
available to all comers free of charge.
As is the case with the downloads of the Third
and Fourth Symphonies, I cannot imagine anyone being dissatisfied
with this recording. If you like Bax’s shorter works like Tintagel
but are hesitating about trying the symphonies, £6 spent on
this download would be a good place to start.
Brian
Wilson
[61:41] 
