Assuming the Bax symphonies will someday receive the popular attention they
so obviously deserve, I predict at least three of his seven symphonies will
come to be ranked with those of Elgar and Vaughan Williams as the greatest
examples of British music in that form. While Bax's Third Symphony was for
many years his most popular symphony, its reputation in recent years has
suffered (rather unfairly, I think) in comparison with those of the Fifth,
Sixth and Second Symphonies which are regarded by most Baxians as his most
characteristic and brilliant orchestral works. Surely, one listen through
of this new Naxos recording of Bax's Second Symphony with David Lloyd-Jones
conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra should convince any sympathetic
listener of Bax's limitless musical imagination and brilliance at writing
for a large symphony orchestra.
The Second Symphony is the most deeply personal of Bax's works, which is
saying a great deal considering how much of his music is autobiographical.
He poured more of himself into this work than any other. Its composition
consumed him for the greater part of two years and at its completion, he
said he felt physically and emotionally exhausted. Any successful performance
of this work must convey the deeply troubled state of mind the composer was
going through at the time of its composition. David Lloyd-Jones' performance
most certainly succeeds in this regard. From the unbelievably ominous opening
with its bass drum roll and sinister motif for cor anglais, clarinet and
bassoon through the middle movement's impassioned outbursts for organ and
running strings to that most desolate and inconsolable of Bax's famous epilogues,
Lloyd-Jones' interpretation is one that emphasizes the dramatic and descriptive
elements of the score. His fastidious attention to detail uncovers a wealth
of instrumental color and invention. Naxos has provided a very clean but
also very dry recording which allows the listener to hear much more of what
is going on in the orchestra than could be heard on the Chandos recording
with Bryden Thomson. I myself would have welcomed a little more ambient warmth
which might have provided more richness to the string tone. The nearly 30-year
old recording made by Lyrita with Myer Fredman conducting the London Philharmonic
is still the preferred recording in terms of sound.
This budget Naxos recording is in almost every way preferable to the Chandos
recording. Lloyd-Jones' interpretation is as spacious as Thomson's but he
is much more successful in navigating the intricate shifts in tempo and mood
and, most importantly, in keeping the music moving. So often with Thomson's
Bax the impression is given of the music being pulled out of shape in order
to accommodate that conductor's desire to wallow in Bax's gorgeous harmonic
textures. Lloyd-Jones is a much more disciplined conductor, and like that
greatest of all Baxians, Vernon Handley, his aim is clearly set at giving
the music shape and assuring that its structure holds together. Mention should
also be made of Fredman's Lyrita account which is currently unavailable.
That fiery performance is a classic and nicely compliments this weightier
and more broadly conceived performance. Its release is an absolute must but
in the meantime I want to wish this new Naxos disc every success because
I believe it could make many new friends for Bax and this symphony in particular.
I can't think of a more underrated masterpiece in British music.
The companion work on this disc is November Woods. The standard recording
by which all new versions of this work are judged is Sir Adrian Boult's
definitive account on Lyrita with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Both
Neville Marriner and Bryden Thomson give similarly conceived performances
which ultimately fail to impress as much as the Boult. Lloyd-Jones, perhaps
wisely, approaches this work differently. His is the more literal interpretation
of a violent autumn storm with the more introspective elements of this tone
poem being underplayed. This is a brilliant, on the edge-of-your-seat performance
which I suspect will be controversial but which also goes to show that great
music can be played in more than one way. The playing by the Royal Scottish
National Orchestra is both works is sensitive and virtuosic. I now look forward
to Lloyd-Jones' recording of the beautiful Third Symphony which is scheduled
for release later this year.
Reviewer
Richard R Adams
Royal Scottish
National Orchestra/David Lloyd-Jones.
