Bax: Tone Poems, Volume 2
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Composer: BaxConductor: Vernon Handley
Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-04-29
Music Label: Chandos
Soundtracks:
- Three Northern Ballads: no 1, First Northern Ballad
- Three Northern Ballads: no 2, Second Northern Ballad
- Three Northern Ballads: no 3, Third Northern Ballad 'Prelude for a Solemn Occasion'
- Nympholept
- Red Autumn
- The Happy Forest
- Into the Twilight
Music reviews of Bax: Tone Poems, Volume 2
Music Review: the inner world of Arnold Bax, vol. 2
Rating: 5 Stars
Vernon Handley, a Baxian of great distinction as established by his top notch cycle of the symphonies, offers all three of the Northern Ballads, Into the Twilight, The Happy Forest, Red Autumn, Nympholept, In the Faery Hills, November Woods, The Garden of Fand and Sinfonietta on two Chandos cd's of which this is the second volume (see also Arnold Bax: Tone Poems). These discs offer fine performances by the BBC Philharmonic, and are considered the latest word in Bax given the conductor's credentials and the 2005-2007 recording dates.
There are, however, several options when it comes to the Bax tone poems, including recordings from Boult, Thomson, and David Lloyd-Jones and all of them are at least very good. Boult's pioneering Lyrita disc is a long-time favorite recorded in excellent stereo sound (Boult conducts Bax), and I would recommend it as a very solid choice. Boult authoritatively covers four of the strongest of Bax's works in this category: the first of the three Northern Ballads, The Garden of Fand, Tintagel and November Woods, along with the brief Mediterranean. Bryden Thomson's recordings of the tone poems date from the early to mid 1980's (see, for example Bax: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3) and (Bax: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4). His recordings of the symphonies came on the heels of several classic Lyrita recordings from the likes of Norman Del, Myer Fredman and Raymond Leppard, however, he proved to be a great Baxian who most effectively communicated the atmospheric vs the dramatic in Bax's music. For this reason, his recordings of the tone poems, which are essentially atmospheric pieces, are among the best I've heard. He presents the brooding and mysterious elements in these wonderful scores in a way like no other, all recorded in excellent sound.
Boult brings unparalleled drama to the tone poems, but that doesn't mean that his is the only way to approach these works. Handley's way is a little more relaxed and atmospheric, but not quite to the degree of Thomson. One can argue the relative merits of each of these Bax masters, however, one of the things these Handley discs have in their favor is the order in which the works are programmed. Nothing sounds insignificant here as Handley makes very persuasive arguments for the lesser known tone poems which are presented as parts of an organic whole. Each work flows very well into the next, and what we are left with is an extended view into the mysterious inner world of the composer.
Although Handley's two discs encompass eleven of Bax's twenty-two tone poems, one of the finer ones, and one of the composer's own favorites, The Tale the Pine Trees Knew, is not among those included. It is, however, included in the second of the Bryden Thomson anthologies referenced above, and in the Lloyd-Jones disc as well (Bax: Symphonic Poems).
In short, I wouldn't want to be without the Boult, Handley or Thomson discs as all are beautiful in their own way.
Five stars.
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