The obvious advantage this Naxos
disc of Malcolm Arnold’s sets of orchestral
dances has over the Lyrita offering
(review)
is that it includes the Welsh Dances
of 1989. These continue the tradition
of Arnold’s dance sets as superbly-crafted,
eminently enjoyable examples of the
composer at his very best (the Lyrita
disc filled out the playing-time by
including two dances from Solitaire).
It is this fact alone that makes this
disc a mandatory purchase for lovers
of Arnold’s music, for the Lyrita recordings
consistently show more life as performances
and more love for the music itself.
Andrew Penny, in the
sets where comparison with the composer’s
own recordings is possible, is consistently
faster than Arnold. Whilst this in itself
does not necessarily imply a more superficial
approach, time and time again the sheer
verve (and sometimes audacity) of the
music comes over superbly on Lyrita,
much more than on Naxos. If I were cornered
into putting a finger on the difference,
it would be that would be easy to dismiss
this music as mere well-crafted bon-bons
under Penny, as opposed to the evergreen
miniatures full of joy they become under
the composer.
Both discs begin with
the two sets of English Dances.
Comparison is illuminating right from
the start. Placed alongside Arnold,
Penny sounds literal in the first dance
of the first set, the dance elements
more inherent within the music rather
than there for all to enjoy on the surface.
With the LPO, the music flows more naturally,
sounding much more varied as a composition.
Under Penny, the second movement (‘Vivace’)
is fairly exuberant; Arnold takes you
to the carnival! Penny’s Queensland
brass section is not 100% with
the pulse in the finale, completely
eclipsed by the LPO members, who make
sure this movement’s kinship with the
second movement does not go unnoticed.
Timings are:
Penny Arnold
2’51 3’15
1’46 1’47
2’24 3’28
1’41 1’31
Things go well for
Penny and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra
in the second set until the finale,
where a generally muddy recorded sound
hinders matters (this particularly afflicts
the horns). Taken on its own terms,
there is nothing wrong with any of Penny’s
other movements. Everybody seems to
be enjoying themselves, with a nice
oboe solo in the ‘Grazioso’ third movement
(actually more grazioso than the LPO’s
oboist). Yet Arnold’s account has much
more sparkle about it. Although there
is only an eight-second difference in
the second movement between the two
versions, Arnold feels even swifter
than this gap would seem to imply. His
finale is blessed with a recording that
lets through more detail, and his conducting
ensures an appropriate feeling of climax
at the end. Timings here are:
Penny Arnold
3’14 3’20
1’31 1’21
2’30 2’30
2’05 2’36
Naxos moves to Scotland
for the next set. The first dance bodes
well, with the ‘pesante’ marking well
observed. The second movement ‘Vivace’
is fairly raucous and has a superbly
cheeky close. Arnold here, however,
outdoes Penny in pure musical comedy.
Despite the timing difference (see below),
Arnold does not sound slower at all.
The third movement
is marked ‘Allegretto’. Listening to
Penny it would be hard to guess this,
although in fairness it would be even
harder with Arnold!. Both conductors
elicit some lovely playing from their
various bands. Penny goes for it in
the brief finale (this is Highland jiggery
on speed!) – Arnold is certainly
happy, yet keeps the reins in. Timings
for the Scottish Dances:
Penny Arnold
2’15 2’39
2’08 2’21
3’10 4’07
1’16 1’26
Naxos programmes the
Cornish Dances, Op. 91 next.
Penny seems quite happy just to project
the happy, folksy elements, but in doing
so he undersells the music. So, the
third movement is march-like but here
appears low on inspiration; the finale
is raucous but feels a bit uncontrolled
– the close seems unprepared. Arnold,
by contrast, is more determined in his
approach to the first movement and,
whilst both conductors are quite spooky
in the ensuing ‘Commodo’, it is Arnold
that points up the beauties and subtleties
of his own scoring. Arnold’s third movement
is magnificent. The full marking is
‘Con moto e sempre senza parodia’ and
his realisation of the music’s own inherent
tendency towards a parody of itself
and the sense of struggle the movement
gives off because of this is little
short of magnificent. Arnold brings
a palpable sense of excitement to the
finale (which, in his hands, begins
like another parody, that of a Renaissance
dance). Again, Arnold’s timings are
generally longer than Penny’s, the first
movement excepted:
Penny Arnold
1’45 1’40
3’08 4’30
2’36 3’24
2’36 3’06
The final set where
a comparison is possible is the Irish
Dances. Both conductors bring out
the dark element of the first dance
(‘Allegro con energico’), but with Arnold
the impression is more primal. Arnold
has rough edges, but they are deliberate
and totally in keeping with the music.
Whereas Penny is merely quite delicate
in the ‘Commodo’, Arnold introduces
an uneasy undercurrent that makes the
lovely ‘Piacevole’ and the intense finale
all the more effective. This is not
to imply Penny is bad, far from it.
His ‘Piacevole’ is poignant and the
playing in the finale is totally on-the-ball.
Yet Arnold, who once again gives himself
space, wins out:
Penny Arnold
1’24 1’42
2’43 2’45
1’41 2’19
2’02 2’32
Finally to the stand-alone
Welsh Dances (Bryden Thomson’s
recording on Chandos CHAN8867 also includes
these, by the way). Despite the brevity
of the individual movements, there is
quite an expansive feel to this music.
The ending of the set is evidently designed
to be grand and impressive, although
it just falls short here – just as the
‘Vivace’ third movement has a fair amount
of energy without glowing with it.
Certainly this Naxos
disc is useful for including the Welsh
Dances, and for its price it is
not to be sniffed at. Yet it is Arnold
who, inspiring the London Philharmonic
to acts of great devotion, time and
time again shows exactly why these pieces
demand the affection they do.
Colin Clarke
See also review
by Rob Barnett
Sir
Malcolm ARNOLD (b.
1921) English
Dancesa (1950s): Set
1, Op. 27 10’11]; Set 2, Op. 33 [7’13].
Solitaire (1956) – Sarabande
[5’39]; Polka 2’46]. Irish
Dances, Op. 126 (1986) [9’28]. Scottish
Dances, Op. 59a (1957)
[10’33]. Cornish Dances, Op.
91a (1966) [12’40]. 
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Malcolm
Arnold. No rec. info. aADD/DDD
LYRITA RECORDED EDITION SRCD201
[60’51]
Easy to dismiss this
music as mere well-crafted bon-bons
under Penny, as opposed to the evergreen
miniatures full of joy they become under
the composer. ... see Full Review
