Composed late on in
his life, at the ages of 45, 54 and
59 respectively, Rawthorne’s symphonies
are written in a mature style, long
after he had found his "voice".
They are fairly introspective works,
a little astringent and full of rhythmic
drive, hinting of Walton, yet also containing
sections of great lyrical beauty. The
First Symphony opens with a spirited,
restless, energetic movement, aptly
named Allegro tempestuoso, which
immediately impresses – both in terms
of the fluency and authority of composition
and the excellent performance. David
Lloyd-Jones is here a sympathetic and
commanding advocate of these works,
which he clearly understands and conveys
with passion. The second movement is
more sombre, with gorgeous sheer sounds
in the strings. It is rather Vaughan
Williams-like in its bleakness and I
personally found it deeply moving. After
a brief Allegro non troppo, the
work ends on a more mercurial, yet exuberant
and expansive note. The second, "A
Pastoral Symphony", is a non-programmatic
portrayal of life in the country, encapsulating
the feel of the countryside rather than
describing it pictorially. A flowing
first movement indicates a much lighter
and more transparent piece than his
First Symphony, with more gossamer textures
and tones, more restrained and less
brash than its predecessor. An introspective,
ruminating Poco lento e liberamente
precedes a jig-like "Country Dance",
both whimsical and rousing. The final
Andante sets the words of the
Elizabethan poet Henry Howard, Earl
of Surrey in a charming description
of country life (surely Britain’s longest-lived
poet, who, according to the programme
notes lived from 1516 to 1647!). This
is sublimely beautiful music, and extremely
well sung by Charlotte Ellett. Yet the
transition to solo voice at the end
of the symphony is not quite as successful,
natural or apposite as at the end of
Vaughan Williams’ Pastoral Symphony
or Mahler’s Fourth, for example. The
Third Symphony is a satisfying marriage
of the restlessness and terseness of
the First and the slightly softer and
more subtle tones of the Second. After
a rather harsh, austere and angular
first movement Allegro comes
a mysterious, ethereal and inscrutable,
but very fine, Andantino. The
third movement is a capricious and flighty
but quiet Scherzo and after a
bold and brash opening to the final
Allegro Risoluto, the symphony
ends in a peaceful and hushed calm repose.
I found it fairly difficult
to listen to the whole disc through
at one sitting, as these are demanding
and emotionally draining works. The
symphonies would be better issued on
three separate discs with other Rawsthorne
works alongside. However, a huge number
of brilliantly crafted British symphonies
were written at around the same time,
most of which have unjustly been consigned
to the scrap heap with the relentless
advance of atonality. It is therefore
wonderful to see Naxos resurrecting
them (especially since the Lyrita recording
of these symphonies has been discontinued),
and particularly given such high standards
of performance from the Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra and masterly conducting
from David Lloyd-Jones.
Em Marshall
Charlotte Ellett (soprano) 
