Vaughan Williams: The Nine Symphonies; Job (Box Set)

Vaughan Williams: The Nine Symphonies; Job (Box Set)

Vaughan Williams: The Nine Symphonies; Job (Box Set)

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CD Details

Performer: William Shimell
Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams
Conductor: Vernon Handley
Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Orchestra: London Philharmonic Orchestra
Performer: Ian Tracey
Performer: David Bell
Performer: Joan Rodgers
Performer: Alison Barlow
Performer: Alison Hargan
Edition: Music CD
Format: Box set, Import
CD Release Date: 2002-11-06
Music Label: Class. for Pleas. Us
Soundtracks:

A Sea Symphony
A London Symphony
Symphony No. 8 In D Minor
English Folk Song Suite
A Pastoral Symphony
Symphony No. 4 In F Minor
Flos Campi
Oboe Concerto In A Minor
Symphony No. 5 In D
Symphony No. 6 In E Minor
Symphony No. 9 In E Minor
Fantasia On "Greensleeves"
Serenade To Music
Partita For Double String Orchestra
Sinfonia Antartica
Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis
Five Variants Of Dives And Lazarus
Job - A Masque For Dancing

Music reviews of Vaughan Williams: The Nine Symphonies; Job (Box Set)

Music Review: Great performances of VW's orchestral glories
Rating: 5 Stars

If you've heard and enjoyed some of Ralph Vaughan Williams' music, but don't want to pay a lot of money collecting his best orchestral stuff, and you also are sure you want crystal clear digital sound - then you owe it to yourself to purchase this incredible box set. You get 7 discs that are jam packed with music (around 70 minutes per disc!), so the 'per disc' price is really quite reasonable. Because each disc is a great value in and of itself, let me review each one:

Disc 1 -- A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1). This isn't my favorite work, but the singing and playing is crisp, evocative, and generally exciting. "A Sea Symphony" deserves a brisk approach and clear sound, and you get that. You can picture the flags snapping and the spray of waves!

Disc 2 -- A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2); Symphony No. 8. A great coupling, as both of these strike me as his most "British" works. One thing Handley does very well is ensuring that the movements clearly sound as parts of an integrated whole. At first, I wasn't sure I would like the Second, and so I put off listening to it. Probably this was because I'd been exposed to a lackluster recording 10 years ago or so (actually, I think it was Haitink's) and it didn't "grab me". My guess is that you could really botch the first and fourth movements; Handley's vision is exciting. The Eighth seems like it's VW's "Four Temperaments" symphony, yet there's a strand of bitterness, a "seen it all" attitude, running through the whole piece. Handley and the RLPO communicate this well.

Disc 3 -- English Folk Song Suite; A Pastoral Symphony (Symphony No. 3); Symphony No. 4. The English Folk Song Suite doesn't seem to have much to say, but if you like it, you'll find it's vivacious and well-played. I have a deep emotional investment in the Pastoral Symphony, however: it was my first Vaughan Williams piece, and it's quite under-rated. Handley's performance is quite celebrated; he never wallows and keeps up quite a steady pace, yet his second and fourth movements do not lack for color or emotion. Because I had been listening to Haitink's version for about 8 years, at first Handley struck me as rushing the piece, but now I'm convinced the two simply are choosing to interpret this masterpiece differently. Haitink's recording is slow but not laborious, thick but not muddled, and overall, I find it a powerful elegy to World War I's fallen soldiers. Handley's version is pastoral and reflective; it has solemn moments but is not excessively burdened by tragedy. Haitink's is for the autumn; Handley's is for the spring.

Finally, the Fourth is rightly recognized (by Aaron Copland among others) as an excellent work. The symphony expresses moments of fury, rage, desolation, cynicism, jeering, and downright nastiness. From opening screech to final insult, Handley's tight and driving performance is absolutely top-notch. I seriously doubt I could be persuaded that there is a finer recording anywhere.

Disc 4 - Flos campi; Oboe Concerto; Symphony No. 5. "Flos campi" is terribly under-rated, probably because those who are accustomed to like Vaughan Williams (i.e. those who don't mind composers who write tonal pieces post-Schoenberg) are also listeners who are inclined towards older forms such as the sonata, the concerto, etc. Orchestra, choir, and solo choir combine in a work of ravishing beauty - celebrating ravishing beauty (settings of the Bible's Song of Songs). A period of quiet attraction leads to wooing, and while there's hints of a struggle (is Solomon trying to steal the beloved away from her shepherd?), a passionate courtship blossoms forth. The neo-Baroque Oboe Concerto is glorious; the third movement is crowned with a furious buildup to a sublime conclusion.

The headliner of this disc is the Fifth Symphony: VW's masterpiece, and a champion recording of it as well. I agree with William Hedley that the first movement is played just a little too loud; it becomes rather loud fairly quickly. All in all, however, this is a recording which continues to keep giving to the faithful listener. The Romanza has to be done right, for it's the heart of the work - and Handley's version is head and shoulders above Slatkin's, Haitink's, and Bakels' versions. This is a powerful rendering of a beautiful and deeply spiritual work.

Disc 5 - Symphony No. 6; Symphony No. 9; Fantasia on "Greensleeves". Want to know the feature of this excellent disc that thrills me? It's the coupling. First you hear the E Minor symphonies, a great pair arranged in chronological order, and then as the final chord of the Ninth fades away into the Void, there are a few seconds of silence, and the flute brings in the Fantasia. Depending on your inclination, you can choose to hear the Fantasia as a response to the Ninth's questions regarding the meanings of existence, mortality, and the universe. As such, perhaps the Fantasia is not a direct answer, but a response imbued with hope - a hope that there is indeed a Being whose `mysterious ways' meets us in our human condition, particularly if you hear the lyrics of "What Child Is This?" Anyway, it's simply a stroke of genius to cap off the Sixth and the Ninth with the Fantasia. Wonderfully mystical stuff.

As far as the performances go, Handley's Sixth strikes me as a bit lacking in drama. The tempos seem right, but the Moderato just doesn't seem to blast me as it should. The "war" in the movement is conducted dispassionately. By contrast, both Haitink and Slatkin throw themselves into it. The Ninth, on the other hand, is thrilling and the movements are performed with an eye to the unified vision. Handley makes the outer movements sufficiently ruminating and ponderous.

Disc 6 - Serenade to Music; Partita for double string orchestra; Symphony No. 7. The Serenade is a glorious, radiant piece of music. Handley has the choral version on this disc. The Partita is a weird, somewhat spooky piece of music. I'm not one to judge string playing, but the lines sound clean and the melody gets through. No complaints.

The Seventh is the "Sinfonia Antartica" VW made from his film music. Each movement is faithful to its tempo markings; the Scherzo's penguins are cavorting, and the Lento is truly glacial in its pace. Handley's version is picture perfect. That said, Haitink's re-interpretation is the more compelling symphonic work, because it favors lyricism and an overall musical argument over individual movements' atmospheric tempos and tone colors. I will gladly grant that Haitink re-imagines VW's symphonic work rather liberally, but sometimes (as in this symphony) it works. Handley's version is excellent orthodoxy; Haitink's version is powerful, liberal, and dramatic. I encourage you to own both.

Disc 7 - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis; 5 Variants on "Dives and Lazarus"; Job. Although I'm not a huge fan of any of these works, I still am not deaf to them. They are perfomed in a most excellent fashion here. These are tight, carefully controlled, and dramatic performances featuring gorgeous string playing. There is no "muddled sound", thank goodness. These pieces demand clarity, definition, and radiance - kudos to performers and engineers.

All in all - if you've heard a bit of Vaughan Williams, and you like what you've heard, this is your "one stop" for his best orchestral stuff. I also encourage you to hear Bernard Haitink's versions - compare and contrast. I enjoy having both Handley's and Haitink's VW #3.

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