EMI's Gemini series
is a serious challenge to Naxos, Apex
and Regis. A double CD set costs £7.99
at Amazon well below the £5 a disc gold
standard for bargain price discs. Although,
as it turns out, there are better choices
for individual works this makes for
a competent, generous and pleasurable
Sibelius anthology with the accent on
the lighter music. The two CDs contain
all the Groves/RLPO Sibelius originally
sold on three EMI vinyls issued
1973-75. This is their CD debut after
almost three decades of neglect.
Groves is not a conductor
we associate with Sibelius; Bliss, Delius,
Sullivan, Elgar, Arnold, Grace Williams,
Walton and Coates, ‘yes’ but not Sibelius.
It was not his métier. Or at
the very least his style seems out of
sync with its spirit. It needs a chill,
a freshness, a shiver, a luminosity
that Groves does not quite attain.
The most serious music
here is the Four Lemminkainen Legends.
They are early works whose profile has
at last emerged from the fame of the
symphonies. These are highly romantic,
touched with a Nordic impressionistic
brush, stark in the case of the Lemminkainen
in Tuonela episode, cool and transcendent
in the case of the most famous of the
tetralogy - The Swan of Tuonela
- which leads a concert life of its
own more than the other pieces. In this
connection Lemminkainen's Return
is the next most likely piece for
you to encounter away from the rest
of the suite. It has been memorably
done by Beecham although let's not forget
Berglund. Groves takes 18.01 over the
Maidens poem. Compare Ormandy
(16.12), Stein (15.39) and Sinaisky
(15.53).
If you want a good
inexpensive set of the Legends then
go for Naxos (Sakari) or Virgin Classics
with Paavo Jarvi (the latter at about
£7 in the UK). Horst Stein is also extremely
good and lacks nothing in atmosphere
and passion - a Decca twofer 452 576-2
that should be in the essential collection
of any Sibelian. Also exceptional is
Ormandy's revelatory 1979 recording
on EMI still sounding superb.
In the light music
the ample string body gives a Palm Court
air to the proceedings. The moods, delicate
and robust, are a Scandinavian echo
of Elgar's numerous popular genre miniatures.
Even in the 'anger' of the Pièce
caracteristique from Suite champetre
there is no serious emotion - no
depths probed. Oddly enough a smaller
string complement might have produced
a better effect.
Groves' In Memoriam
though notable for some shuddering
outbursts dallies between security and
instability; too tentative for its own
good. There are no concessions to theatre
or parade ground grief in this piece.
The Tempest music,
like everything else from these sessions,
was beautifully recorded and this set
does it better justice than the original
LPs. However compared to Beecham (Sony)
Groves is superficial. Compared to Boult's
Tempest Prelude Groves' is rather too
refined and Groves loses full touch
with the angry emotional pulse. I am
being far too negative here as there
are also some lovely moments (try tr.
14 - the entr'acte) but the magnetic
pull is towards the generalised rather
than the sharply etched. When I compare
this lovingly recorded version with
the mono Sony the affable but not bumbling
Beecham delivers one imaginative coup
after another - surprising and delighting
in music that is already familiar. Groves
pleases but neither terrifies nor delights;
the emotional compass is narrower.
This is an exceptionally
well recorded collection showcasing
Groves' Sibelius adventure with the
RLPO and EMI Classics in the early
1970s. In audio terms when first released
the Lemminkainen Legends trounced
the competition - the Jensen version
on Eclipse or Ace of Clubs and the Lukas
Foss/Buffalo Phil on Nonesuch. That
said, EMI, faced with a choice between
recording the Sibelius symphonies with
Groves in Liverpool and Berglund in
Bournemouth, understandably chose Berglund.
On their own terms
these tracks are well worth hearing
and having. I do not regret the purchase
but this is not special. If your preferences
in Sibelius run to the more relaxed,
smooth and loquacious then Groves will
be for you and this set will satisfy.
Rob Barnett
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir
Charles Groves