MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW
BARGAIN OF THE MONTH



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

alternatively
CD: MDT AmazonUK AmazonUS

English String Music
Edward ELGAR (1857 – 1934)
Introduction and Allegro, op.47 (1905) [14:06]
Serenade in E minor, op.20 [13:12]
Elegy, op.58 (1909) [4:30]
Sospiri, op.70 (1914) [5:17]
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872 – 1958)
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910) [16:20]
Fantasia on Greensleeves (1929) [4:39]
Frederick DELIUS (1862 – 1934)
Brigg Fair:An English Rhapsody (1908) [18:17]
Allegri Quartet (Eli Goren and James Barton (violins), Patrick Ireland (viola), William Pleeth (cello)), Sinfonia of London, New Philharmonia Orchestra (Elegy and Sospiri only) Hallé Orchestra (Delius only)/Sir John Barbirolli
rec. 10-11 May 1962 (Introduction and Allegro, Serenade and Greensleeves), 16 July 1966 (Elegy and Sospiri), 15-17 July 1970 (Delius), Kingsway Hall, London and 17 May 1962 (Tallis Fantasia), Temple Church, London. ADD
Re–issues of LPs: ASD 521 and parts of ASD 2292 and ASD 2635
CD first issued in the GROC series
EMI CLASSICS MASTERS 6 31788 2 [76:27]
Experience Classicsonline


English String Music is the name of one of Glorious John’s very best LPs, and it has long been seen as a touchstone of great string playing, and of great English string music. This is Barbirolli at the peak of his career, directing music he loves. Indeed, it is one of the great records; a miraculous achievement of the right personnel, the right conductor and the right repertoire. Rarely comest thou, Spirit of Delight!, Elgar wrote at the head of his 2nd Symphony, and the same could be said of this recording. These performances defy criticism, so I am not going to criticise merely introduce them to those unfortunate not to have heard them.

The Introduction and Allegro and Tallis Fantasia both have the addition of the original Allegri Quartet – shame on EMI for not making mention of their participation in large print on the cover of the booklet – and how well the four players complement the massed strings, and join in the fabulous music-making. JB made the first two recordings of the Introduction and Allegro – Elgar never recorded it but knew Barbirolli’s recordings, saying that he had never realised what a big piece it was! Barbirolli’s second (1929) recording of the work can be found on Barbirolli Society (CDSJB 1999 – a 2 CD set of varied material). In JB’s hands it is a big piece – I have never heard it sound so full and resplendent – and he pulls out all the stops for this performance, giving a powerhouse of a performance. On top of that there is the marvellous moment, at 9:46 where the great William Pleeth leads the music into the recapitulation – sensational!

The Serenade receives a bit of a hothouse performance but it can stand this con amore approach for JB is utterly sincere in his direction. He even proves that the slow movement is, quite obviously, the forerunner of the great slow movements in the Symphonies.

The Tallis Fantasia gains from being recorded in the Temple Church and that acoustic lets the music breathe and expand to fill the space. It also allows for the distant orchestra to be heard clearly in relation to the full body of strings. And just listen to JB’s magnificent use of rubato at 10:48. Superb!

The Greensleeves Fantasia brought that LP to a delectable conclusion, and it is a lovely sweetmeat, before Delius’s visit to the countryside. Thus ends English String Music, the LP. The only thing which could have made it perfect would have been a reprint of Burnett James’s original sleeve-notes!

The Elegy – Elgar’s epitaph for his friend A.E. Jaeger, Nimrod of the Enigma – and Sospiri come from an LP of Elgar’s music, which included the five Pomp and Circumstance Marches – what a suite of music that is! They are both deeply-felt works and JB brings out all the longing and pathos of the music in beautifully understated performances.

This recording of Brigg Fair comes from JB’s last recording session and what a performance it is! JB’s Delius is more romantic, more languid, than Beecham’s, but it is equally valid. This performance makes Brigg Fair into the symphonic movement it so obvious is – it’s more coherent, with regard to form, than much of Delius, but it’s seldom seen that way. JB characterises each variation well and the funeral march is especially impressive.

These transfers are exemplary. The notes, by the wonderful Michael Kennedy are excellent. If this disk isn’t in your collection it should be. There is no excuse for its omission. This is perfection. It’s true. They really don’t make them like this any more.

Bob Briggs

see also review of a different reissue by Harry Downey


 

 

 

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.