The inaugural batch
of truly new Lyritas came out
in January but review copies have until
now been in short supply. This is the
first disc from that batch and it is
gloriously successful.
On offer here are two
enduringly fresh glories of the British
choral renaissance united by the Guildford
Philharmonic Choir and Vernon Handley.
Each work eschews the cloying fustian
of Victoriana. The applied sensibility
of the two composers is very much of
the twentieth century. The two works
appear together for the first time and
make a substantial and frankly irresistible
offering.
You will have noted
the analogue origins. This need hold
no fears for any purchaser. The sound
is intrinsically splendid and remains
so quite untroubled by the passage of
arms from analogue to digital. Simon
Gibson the transfer engineer held in
his hands the impossibly exalted expectations
of a generation or two of listeners
and has met those expectations – long
may he labour over those tapes. I am
fascinated to hear what he does with
the intrinsically glorious tapes of
Boult’s version of the Moeran Symphony,
Del Mar in Bax 6 and Rignold’s of the
Bliss John Blow Meditations and
Music for Strings. Precious cargo
indeed!
Turning first to the
Hadley – which has a track per movement.
The best demonstration of the successful
transfer is in the silky sheen of the
violins in the Andante tranquillo
of the Hadley (tr. 2, 3:50-4:30).
Even with headphones and the volume
turned up high I could only ever just
hear a subtle hush underpinning Carl
Pini’s con molto amore violin
solo in the third movement and again
his poignant solo under the words …
and buttercups in the finale. The
rich ominous tones of the bass drum
at the start of the finale – where the
choir and soloist join for the first
time induces an honest and wondering
shiver. At the end the concatenation
of the sung words The trees so high,
forever and farewell continues
to lend this work and this recording
towering emotional power. Even if you
have the equally superb Chandos version
you need this one as well.
Then to the Finzi Intimations:
a personal favourite. How liberating
it is to have the horn call from eternity,
right at the very start, sing out with
such pregnant tension without the slightest
hint of LP rumble. It simply floats
free and launches this major work with
serenity and the promise of revelation.
Both percussion and heavy brass register
with a completely apt gruffness and
a bright glow in the Now, While the
Birds … We can forgive Finzi the
Waltonian wand with which the percussion
voices are touched. The same goes for
the brass for that matter at (tr. 8
2:53 and 3:21; tr. 9 0:22). The recording
stands up supremely well to those ringing
massed choral cries of Shout round
me! It was always adroitly balanced
with as much attention to projecting
massed fortissimo outbursts as to confiding
asides. The woodwind graces that reach
out to the listener from time to time
as in the flute-trilling birdsong that
dynamically entwines I love the brooks
(tr. 14) are done with touching
fidelity. At the start of tr. 10 Our
Birth is but a Sleep … the purity
with which the timps and brass are rendered
is a thing of sheer joy. Just one blemish
– a series of barely audible distant
clicks in tr. 10 at 3:20, 3:33, 3:40
and 3:44. Back to the positive though:
in tr. 13 listen for the cavernously
hoarse tuba morphing into a rumba –
a similar coup to be found in the finale
of Finzi’s Cello Concerto.
Those who may have
looked askance at the Guildford Philharmonic
Choir and Orchestra have no reason to
be critical. Handley had been conducting
that orchestra and choir since the 1960s.
He made several Bax recordings with
them in the 1960s for the Revolution
label. There is nothing here that is
poor or amateurish. There are some extremely
demanding moments at which the choir
more than meet the challenge. One example
is in tr. 10 at 1:22 where the chorus,
coming in cold, hit the word God,
on a high exposed entry, slap bang on
the note. On the words ‘We in thought
will join your throng’ they project
a lovely radiant tone without a hint
of ferocity.
This is the version
to have. It is superior to all others
although the wonderful Gilchrist on
Naxos comes close. The Langridge/EMI
is excellent from the point of view
of orchestral sound but the tenor singing
is marred by an excessively wobbly vibrato
and much the same applies to the Hyperion.
You may be less allergic to this factor
than me but in this work where the music
and the words are of equal significance
I find that cycling throb in the voice
a real obstacle. Listen to Partridge
at And O ye Fountains … and to
the explosive crescendo in One delight.
These recordings first
appeared separately on LP, the Finzi
in 1975 as SRCS75 and the Hadley in
1979 on SRCS106 coupled with the same
composer’s Vaughan Williams tribute
One Morning in Spring – the latter
conducted by Boult. The Boult item will
reappear as part of the April release
programme under SRCD 245 with other
Boult Lyrita recordings: Butterworth:
Two English Idylls; Banks
of Green Willow; A Shropshire
Lad; Warlock: An Old Song;
Hadley: One Morning in Spring;
Howells: Procession; Merry
Eye; Elegy for viola, string
quartet and strings; Music for a
Prince.
The liner-notes for
the present disc are by William Mann
(Hadley) and Diana McVeagh (Finzi).
The sung words are given in the booklet
in full although following the shifting
narrative stance of the Hadley demands
mental agility from the reader/listener.
As is common with Lyrita
the exact date and location of recording
sessions is not given.
Matchless versions
of major works by Hadley and Finzi.
An outstanding achievement by composers,
performers and technicians.
Rob Barnett
Comparative reviews – other versions
Hadley The Trees So High - Chandos
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/May05/Sainton_Hadley_CHAN241-22.htm
Finzi Intimations of Immortality
JW http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classRev/2006/July06/Finzi_immortality_8557863.htm
AO http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Aug06/Finzi_Immortality_8557863.htm
EM http://musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2006/Nov06/Finzi_Immortality_8557863.htm
RB http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2006/May06/Finzi_immortality_8557863.htm
for
details
Ian Partridge (tenor) 
