This is the first appearance
on CD of a rare recording of Moeran's
early violin sonata. It is spiritedly
done although Geraldine' O'Grady's bounteous
intakes of breath are an obbligato some
may find distracting. The sonata has
something of John Ireland about it especially
in the slow movement. There is more
of Bax and the ‘Irish’ Moeran in the
jig (pallidly recalling the spark-flying
middle movement of the Violin Concerto)
and march finale. Likeable but not compelling
stuff.
The Two Pieces show
two sides of Moeran. Lonely Waters
reflects the love of the lonely
places in Norfolk and Ireland - Sibelian,
chilly, bleak yet not devoid of a warmly
curdled harmony (Warlock, Goossens and
Van Dieren). The Shadow is
a small step away from the pewter-precious
of Warlock's Capriol. Perfect
little mood miniatures each.
The Symphony was commissioned
by Harty in 1924 but not completed in
final form until 1937. After the famed
Leslie Heward recording, the Symphony
remained unrecorded until these Dilkes-EMI
sessions. It was through this recording
first issued on LP in 1973 (ASD2913),
reissued on EMI Greensleeves LP
(ED 29 0187 4) and then issued on CD
in 1988 (CDM7 69419-2). I cannot deal
with this recording dispassionately.
It was the version through which I came
to know the piece, played a cassette
of it to death, accompanied me plugged
into a small Philips cassette recorder
in the back of my beat-up Austin 1100
on car journeys between Bristol and
Torquay. It is spectacularly recorded
and the English Sinfonia play up a storm
even if they were soon trounced by the
princely version (still vinyl-incarcerated)
by Boult and the ‘New Philharmonia Orchestra
of London’. Boult's horns have never
been equalled. Of course since then
Heward has been reissued by both Dutton
and EMI and Vernon Handley on Chandos
has turned in an exemplary
performance. David Lloyd Jones conducts
a very fine version issued on Naxos.
Dilkes' short-lived
orchestra gave their all for these sessions.
The Sibelian Lento (momentarily
recalling the Walton Symphony) is chilly.
The scherzo has not been bettered as
a poetic statement. The music is allowed
to proceed at a more languid pace than
usual and the oboe and clarinet are
given the chance to shine. David Mottley
and Neville Boyling captured the open
textures with purity and richness as
well as with unflinching impact especially
in the cracking climaxes of the two
outer movements. The harp at 4.08 is
caught with lovely intimacy and the
flute glows with a Provençal
light.
The finale perhaps
looks in part to Bax's November woods,
to Sibelius's Fifth Symphony and Tapiola.
However it is not difficult simply to
enjoy this gorgeous music - intermittently
derivative it may be but ultimately
this is one of the sensationally enjoyable
glories of British symphonic output.
Good brief notes from
Calum Macdonald round out a successful
reissue in EMI's ‘British Composers’
series.
Whatever happened to
Neville Dilkes? I would like to know.
It would be good to hear more about
his feeling for the Moeran and how this
recording came about.
Rob Barnett
English Sinfonia/Neville Dilkes