Elgar’s
Wand of Youth suites
were once (August or September 1968, I think) deemed important
enough for the Boult recording to feature on the front
cover of
The Gramophone magazine. I doubt that
anyone would now accord them such high status, but they
have always been favourites of mine since I obtained them
coincidentally along with Anthony Pini’s account of the
Cello Concerto on Decca Ace of Clubs. As I recall, those
were pretty crumbly recordings, but the quality of the
music shone through. That van Beinum recording is now
available on CD (Beulah 2PD15 – also from iTunes, but not
as one of their higher-bit-rate ‘plus’ recordings), sounding,
by all accounts, much better than on ACL.
The Boult version to which
I have referred was also once available on CD (CDM7 69207
2); though its place in the EMI stable has now been taken
by Vernon Handley’s account (CFP 5 75979 2) at about the
same price as this Chandos reissue, I shall not be abandoning
it any time soon. I shall, however, play this Chandos
version, too, especially as the couplings are more apt
and more enticing than those on the Boult CD. The
Nursery
Suite and
Dream Children – the latter piece
added to this reissue to make it even better value – are
smaller beer than
Wand of Youth, but well worth
hearing.
Bryden Thomson had something
of a reputation for slowish tempi, savouring the music
a little too much as he went along. I find this less irksome
in his performances of Bax, for example, than some reviewers,
and it is not too much in evidence here. He is often faster
than Boult; only rarely is he slower.
The
Slumber Scene (track
6) is one exception: here, at 4:27, he is exactly a whole
minute slower than Boult’s 3:27. EM, who has already reviewed
this recording – see
review – also
noted that Thomson takes whole minute longer over this
movement than Handley – at least, I think he meant to say
that Thomson was slower, not shorter.
Not recalling that I had
thought this movement at all slow in my first run-through,
I let several days elapse before listening carefully to
the Boult version, fully prepared to think his timing too
rushed. It was no such thing – he captures the spirit
of the piece perfectly. Having put on the Boult recording
in order to check the one track, I just couldn’t resist
playing the whole thing. This is a wonderful recording
and EMI should urgently consider reissuing it, perhaps
more appropriately coupled – the music and performance
are even worthy to sit alongside the
Enigma Variations. I
note that JQ welcomed its most recent appearance on EMI
British Classics with enthusiasm (5 75295 2 – see
review).
Then I played the Thomson
again and derived equal pleasure from it. At first I thought
the recording not quite as full as the Boult – EMI’s ADD
sound is very good for its age – but that is an aural delusion
resulting from the fact that the EMI transfer is at a slightly
higher rate: turn up the Chandos a notch and the illusion
disappears. Both performances and recordings deliver plenty
of power where it is need.
Did Thomson’s
Slumber
Scene sound too slumberous? Only marginally – heard
on its own, without comparison, it’s perfectly fine. I’ve
said so often that tempo indications don’t always tell
the full story that it’s time that I got it into my own
noddle. I do think, however, that the March which begins
the second suite (tr.8) is a touch slow at 4:58 against
Boult’s 4:26.
The
Nursery Suite and
Dream
Children also receive fine performances – the latter
from Norman del Mar, always idiomatic in English music – well
recorded. At its new price, this recording is very welcome. In
the absence of the Boult (temporary, I hope) this will
do very nicely.
These Thomson performances
are available to download from classicsonline (mp3 – the
original full-price coupling, without
Dream Children)
and from Chandos’s own theclassicalshop (mp3 and lossless
versions). The lossless version is excellent but it’s
actually a penny dearer than the CD. The iTunes version,
though in the ‘plus’ format, also offers the Chandos original
and thus omits the
Dream Children performance; at £7.99
it’s as expensive as the lossless version from theclassicalshop.
Chandos will sell you
the CD for the iTunes price – some dealers even offer it
for less – and you get the informative booklet with Malcolm
Walker’s informative notes, which also comes as part of
the deal if you download from Chandos. I particularly
liked the cover of the reissued CD, from
The Tatler – its
knowing innocence is in perfect accord with the spirit
of the music. You have to look inside the booklet, p.15,
to discover that the little girl is saying to her friend “An’ you
KNOW what men are.”
If you enjoy these pieces,
you will probably react favourably to Elgar’s other piece
of childhood-related music,
The Starlight Express,
Op.78 - not to be confused with the West End musical of
that name; there’s a wonderful budget-price Vernon Handley
version on Classics For Pleasure 5859072.
Brian Wilson
see also review by Em Marshall
Ulster Orchestra/Bryden Thomson 
