Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1)

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony for orchestra, chorus and solo voices, set to texts by Walt Whitman, is both a splendid homage to the English late Romantic choral tradition of Elgar and Parry, and a forerunner of Benjamin Britten’s Spring Symphony. While overtly descriptive of the sea in its many moods, the work nevertheless marks a radical departure from precedent. In his desire to free English music from the Austro-German framework, Vaughan Williams combines high art with folk-inflected music. In his setting of verses by Walt Whitman, the composer invites an analogy between the voyager at sea and the journeying of the soul towards the unknown regions on earth, as the ship finally vanishes over the horizon. "O daring joy, but safe! are they not all the seas of God? O farther, farther sail!"

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

A Song For All Seas, All Ships - Andante Maestoso - London Symphony Chorus
On The Beach At Night, Alone - Largo Sostenuto - London Symphony Chorus
Scherzo: The Waves - Allegro Brillante - London Symphony
The Explorers - Grave E Molto Adagio - London Symphony Chorus

Tracks:

Lento: Allegro Risoluto
Lento
Scherzo (Nocturne)
Andante Con Moto; Maestoso Alla Marcia; Allegro; Lento; Epilogue
Allegro Pesante - James Oliver Buswell IV
Adagio - James Oliver Buswell IV
Presto - James Oliver Buswell IV
Overture

Tracks:

Molto Moderato - Douglas Cummings
Lento Moderato - Douglas Cummings
Moderato Pesante - Douglas Cummings
Lento - Douglas Cummings
Allegro
Andante Moderato
Scherzo: Allegro Molto
Finale Con Epilogo Fugato: Allegro Molto

Tracks:

Preludio: Moderato
Scherzo: Prestso
Romanza: Lento
Passacaglia: Moderato
Explorer
Poet
Queen
Allegro Moderato - John Fletcher
Romanza: Andante Sostenuto - John Fletcher
Finale: Rondo Alla Tedesca - John Fletcher

Tracks:

Allegro
Moderato
Scherzo: Allegro Vivace
Epilogue: Moderato
Moderato Maestoso
Andante Sostenuto
Scherzo: Allegro Pesante
Andante Tranquillo

Tracks:

Spoken Introduction - The Ambrosian Singers
Prelude: Andante Maestoso - The Ambrosian Singers
Spoken Introduction - The Ambrosian Singers
Scherzo: Moderato; Poco Animato - The Ambrosian Singers
Spoken Introduction - The Ambrosian Singers
Landscape: Lento - The Ambrosian Singers
Spoken Introduction - The Ambrosian Singers
Intermezzo: Andante Sostenuto - The Ambrosian Singers
Spoken Introduction - The Ambrosian Singers
Epilogue: Alla Marcia Moderato (Ma Non Troppo) - The Ambrosian Singers
Fantasia (Variazioni Senza Tema)
Scherzo Alla Marcia (Per Stromenti A Fiato)
Cavatina (Per Stromenti Ad Arco)
Toccata

Customer Reviews:

A Great First Buy on Ralph Vaughan Williams........2007-06-05

Up until recently, I was only vaguely familiar with the music of British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. After reading the reviews and noticing the lower than usual price for this set, I thought I'd give it a listen. I'm definitely glad I did as this is some very beautiful music indeed.
All nine of Vaughan William's symphonies are included here along with four bonus pieces, the Concerto Accademico for Violin, the Bass Tuba Concerto, "Three Portraits from the England of Elizabeth" and the overture for the stage play "The Wasps".
Conductor Andre Previn definitely brings these works to life in a mighty way. The "Sea Symphony" is a real standout with its beautiful choral arrangements and orchestrations. Other standouts are the "Pastoral" third symphony and the dramatic Stravinsky-esque fourth symphony.
Indeed, all of the music here is something special and I'm very satisfied to have this set as my introduction to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Like other reviewers have stated here, this is definitely a must-have collection and I can't think of a better way to start a Vaughan Williams library than with this.

A small footnote: After listening to the first movement of "A Sea Symphony", it may be quite possible that John Lennon sampled a small section of it for "Revolution 9" on the Beatles' White Album. The section in question occurs roughly 12 minutes into the first movement. It's very brief but it immediately stuck out once it was heard.

Vaughan Williams' wonderful music at last..........2007-04-21

Ralph Vaughan Williams was in my opinion one of the very greatest composers of music. Never content with what he had just written, but nevertheless staunch in his principles, over his lifetime he created a series of amazingly vital and original pieces. I could write many pages about these works, so will just say a little about my favorite of all, the incredible Symphony No 8 in D minor. Written at the extraordinary age of 86, the sheer musical inventiveness of this truly unbelievable piece is without equal and I include here all the "great" classical composers such as Beethoven, Brahms and the like. The first movement "Variations in search of a theme" is serious, thought-provoking and modern, yet unmistakably RVW. Its one of the most original first movements ever written ( owing nothing whatsoever to the classical tradition) and though asking more questions than it answers, is a movement even if you have never listened to any of RVWs music before demands attention and absolutely requires you to listen more. The second movement "Cavatina" is one of the most ghostly-beautiful slow movements ever written. The only thing I can really compare it with is RVWs own "The Lark Ascending" though for me this is a far more complex and challenging piece. I have listened to Barber's famous " Adagio for Strings", written at about the same time as this,and for me, this is an even greater and more moving piece - well Barber hadn't written the so-called "Pastoral" Symphony for practice had he ? The third movement is a typically gruff RVW scherzo. I can just see the old geezer galumphing round his garden complaining about his musicians, modern taxation, life in general... It's really funny and whenever can you say that of Mozart, Beethoven , Brahms and company...?The fourth movement is is ...how on earth do you describe this absolutely extraordinary finale. Part village band, part religious apotheosis, this is music truly not of the everyday earth which we inhabit, but something much more glorious, more astonishing... In this movement RVW uses just about every musical instrument known to man - he must have had enormous fun composing it... but the first entry of the celeste is the moment you all need to listen for.

André Previn has chosen some of the very finest of RVWs works to record on this set and for me this is his greatest testament as a conductor. His sheer (and somewhat amazing in itself as a jazz musician) love for RVWs music comes out tops here. A great recording and an absolutely tremendous bargain.

Previn & Vaughan Williams: An Excellent Coupling.......2007-01-10

I have some of these recordings on RCA Red Seal LPs from the late 1960's. I think it is one the best of three symphony cycles in my possession. The other two are Colin Davis/Sibelius and Herbert Blomstedt/Nielsen. Some of my RVW LPs are Adrian Boult and some are Andre Previn. I prefer Previn. Previn really digs into this music. My three favorites: #2 (London), #3 (Pastoral) and #5. It gives me goose bumps being able to listen to them without rice krispies in the background. Kudos to RCA for re-releasing these gems.

Can't get any better.......2004-07-19

If you've ever thought of getting all of the RVW symphonies but haven't, because of cost or what not, there are no more excuses. This is the best set ever. Previn and the LSO had a magical relationship 30 years ago, and no one has ever done these symphonies better. If you find some of them tough nuts to crack, don't worry; RVW isn't easy music, but it is well worth it. It's not supposed to be simple. The only caveat: analog sound. Now RCA was capable of great sound in the 1970's, and the sound is frankly better than the newer RCA series with Slatkin. But if superb digital sound is paramount, you won't go wrong with Handley's set with Liverpool. It's another top notch cycle. Still, I rate Previn tops in this music. RCA is to be commended for releasing this set, as well as the others in the series...check them out!

Comprehensive and Impressive Collection.......2004-04-07

Listen to the bold beginning of Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony, and you've captured the essence of VW at his best. This is the first of 9 symphonies by a composer who is surely England's greatest Symphonist. His essays in the form span the first half of the twentieth century, but include few of its radical elements. Vaughan Williams was a traditionalist throughout, and surely it was that conservative outlook that drew him to the symphonic form in the first place.

Listening to his second symphony, A London Symphony, one hears typical Vaughan Williams-almost entirely melodic in its conception, with lots of diatonic, modal or pentatonic writing, and a touch of chromatic harmony to flavour the melody. It's beautiful, and the music spans a wide emotional gamut from intense introspection to joyous celebration. Only in the 4th Symphony does VW really open himself to a more contrapuntal and dissonant style, and the consequence is that the composition becomes quite reminiscent of Prokofiev or Schostakovich, the two other great Symphonists of the time. Following the 5th Symphony, however, I feel that VW's artistic output suffers. The later pieces, with the exception of the 7th Symphony, Sinfonia Antarctica-based on music he'd composed for the film Scott of the Antarctic--lack the vigor and excitement of the earlier works. They're more introspective, perhaps as befits an older composer, but they don't speak to me as strongly as, say, the later symphonies of Mahler or Schostakovich. Perhaps it is that VW was resistant to change in his basic musical outlook, but by the 1950's, the diatonic/pentatonic ideas he frequented had become increasingly irrelevant. That VW was brilliant and a master craftsman is unquestionable, but he seemed to need new fuel for his compositional fires and was unwilling to consider the atonality of Schoenberg and his followers, the rhythmic vitality of Stravinsky and Bartok, or even the orchestral colours and dramatic juxtapositions of Gustav Mahler. There are still many moments of brilliance, but as a whole the later works move me less.

Tracks:

Violin Concerto In A Minor, BWV 1041, Andante
Concerto For 2 Violins In D Minor, BWV 1043, Largo Ma Non Tanto
Sinfonia Decima A 7 For 2 Trumpets and Strings, Op. 3, Adagio, Grave, Adagio
Cello Concerto In C, Adagio
Cello Concerto In D, Op. 101, Adagio
String Symphony No. 4, Andante
Capriol Suite Pieds-En-Lair
Violin Concerto No. 4 In D, K. 218 Andante Cantabile
Concerto In F Major, F VII 2, RV. 455, Grave
Concerto In A Minor, F VII 5, RV. 461 Larghetto
Symphony No. 6 In F Major Op. 68, 'Pastoral' Szene Am Bach/Scene By The Brook, Andante Molto Mosso

Tracks:

Concerto In D For 2 Trumpets, Strings, And Continuo
Sonata In D For 2 Trumpets, Strings, And Continuo
Violin Concerto In A Minor, BWV 104 First Movement
Cello Concerto In C, Moderato
Oboe Concerto In B-Flat, Op. 7, No. 6 Allegros I & II
Oboe Concerto In D Major, Op. 7, No. 6 Allegros I & II
Oboe Concerto In D Major, F VII 10 RV. 453 Allegro, Largo, Allegro
Symphony No. 40 In G Minor, K. 550 Andante
Basset Clarinet Concerto In A, K. 622 Allegro

Tracks:

The Planets Suite: Venus, Bringer Of Peace
The Planets Suite, Neptune, The Mystic
Adagio For Strings
Adagio In G Minor
Symphony No. 4 In C Minor, Andante
Symphony No. 5 In B-Flat Major, Andante
Violin Concerto In E Minor, Andante
Lady Radnor's Suite, Slow Minuet
Sospiri, Op. 70
Suite For String Orchestra, Nocturne
Marche Funevre, Lento, Excerpt
Calm Sea & Prosperous Voyage Op. 27

Tracks:

Fantasia On A Theme By Tomas Tallis
Lark Ascending
Eclogue For Piano And Strings
Clair De Lune
Clarinet Concerto, Adagio
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op. 10, Adagio
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge, Op. 10, Chant

Album Description

BRAINWAVE SYMPHONY combines carefully selected music from the baroque, classical, romantic, impressionistic, and twentieth-century eras with breakthrough audio technology to give you the best of classical wisdom and modern science.

We all experience many states of consciousness, from ordinary waking and sleeping states to extraordinary states in which we are more at peace, particularly aware, or unusually creative. Each state has a unique pattern of brainwaves that can be mapped and measured. Brainwave Symphony uses of inaudible pulses of sound, based on these brain maps, to trigger your brain to produce the state you want to experience.

Combining this powerful new recording process with carefully selected works of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Bach, and other masters offers a beautiful and unique listening experience as well as a powerful tool for personal transformation.

Orchestrate Your State of Mind

CD1 Alpha Relax & Let Go Alert Meditation, Tranquillity, and Active Relaxation. Mozart, Bach, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Warlock, Vivaldi, Bononcini, and Beethoven

CD2 Beta Energize & Focus Heightened Focus, Enhanced Energy, and Peak Performance. Mozart, Bach, Alberti, Haydn, Albinoni, and Vivaldi

CD3 Delta Unwind & Sleep Deep Relaxation, Rejuvenation, and Restful Sleep Holst, Barber, Albinoni, Parry, Elgar, Bridge, Mendelssohn, and Chopin

CD4 Theta Meditate & Create Deep Meditation, Heightened Intuition and Enhanced Creativity.

Williams, Finzi, Debussy and Britten

All brainwave frequencies were scored by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson whose innovative work, based on over 20 years of clinical research, is used by healthcare professionals in 26 countries. Dr. Thompson is currently on the faculty of, and has research and clinical offices at, the California Institute for Human Science.

Music was selected and sequenced by Pat Moffitt Cook, M.M., Ph.Dc., AMI Fellow, a pioneer in the use of music in health care. Pat is the founder and director of the Open Ear Center for Music in Healthcare and Education, where she trains professionals, musicians, and laypeople in the use of healing music.

Customer Reviews:

Took a nap during labor.......2007-01-16

I used the first CD in this collection (Alpha) to assist me during the labor and delivery of our daughter. I put it on our ipod and listened to it over and over during the labor process. I actually managed a light nap during active labor and had very little pain throughout the process. It that doesn't tell you that it keeps you relaxed and able to meditate, I don't know whatelse might convince you. The recording is great, the music lovely, and it does what it claims to do. I highly recommend it!

Awesome!.......2006-03-17

These really work! Ever wonder why listening to classical music may make you more up-tight than relaxing you? Here's the reason...

Induces great relaxation, pair with noise-cancelling headphones and sleep on plane........2005-12-30

So far I have only really used the relaxation CD, which works amazingly well. I have been flying more red-eyes lately in part because I know I can sleep on the plane from as soon as I get on. However, I have always slept pretty well on airplanes!

I keep forgetting to try out the rest of the CD collection.

Recommended for first rate relaxation and sleep!.......2005-06-06

These cds sound like simple classical music, but they do indeed assist you to enter different states of mind. For best effect, wear stereo headphones. But even without, you will find it easier to relax, sleep and meditate. If you don't like classical, the Brainwaves Suite has a new age/environmental sound.

Worth the listen.......2004-10-17

My curiousity was well rewarded when I first listened to these four CDs. The symphonic music is seamlessly recorded, accented with tone notations that are easy on the ear and peaceful on the mind. This set is at the office, on the iPod and the home computer, and loaned to others on a regular basis. They have flavored prayer services and supported pastoral conversations. Make good presents, too. Worried about subliminal suggestion? Well, if clearer thinking and thoughtful reflection is subliminal thinking, then you will get the message each time you listen to these recordings. Other recordings by Dr. Thompson deliver just as these do.

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies #1-9, The Lark Ascending, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, In the Fen Country - Haitink, Bostridge, Chang (7 CD's)

Average customer rating:

VW Can't miss
Vaughan Williams the Great European Symphonist

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies #1-9, The Lark Ascending, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, In the Fen Country - Haitink, Bostridge, Chang (7 CD's)
Ian Bostridge , Sarah Chang , Felicity Lott , Jonathan Summers , Amanda Roocroft , Shauss , and Charles-Marie Widor
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Mahler: The Symphonies
Mahler - The Complete Symphonies / LPO, Tennstedt
Symphonies 1-9
Strauss: Orchestral Works
Nielsen: Symphonies no 4-6 / Blomstedt, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra

ASIN: B0002RUAFQ
Release Date: 2004-11-02

Tracks:

I: A Song For All Seas, All Ships: Behold, The Sea Itself - Jonathan Summers
I: A Song For All Seas, All Ships: Today A Rude Brief Recitative - Jonathan Summers
I: A Song For All Seas, All Ships: Flaunt Out, O Sea, Your Seperate Flags Of Nations! - Jonathan Summers
I: A Song For All Seas, All Ships: Token Of All Brave Captains - Jonathan Summers
I: A Song For All Seas, All Ships: A Pennant Universal - Jonathan Summers
II: On The Beach At Night, Alone: On The Beach At Night, Alone - Jonathan Summers
II: On The Beach At Night, Alone: A Vast Similitude Interlocks All - Jonathan Summers
III: Scherzo: The Waves - Jonathan Summers
IV: The Explorers (Grave E Molto Adagio - Andante Co Moto): O Vast Rondure, Swimming In Space - Jonathan Summers
IV: The Explorers (Grave E Molto Adagio - Andante Co Moto): Down From The Gardens Of Asia Descending - Jonathan Summers
IV: The Explorers (Grave E Molto Adagio - Andante Co Moto): O We Can Wait No Longer - Jonathan Summers
IV: The Explorers (Grave E Molto Adagio - Andante Co Moto): O Thou Transcendent - Jonathan Summers
IV: The Explorers (Grave E Molto Adagio - Andante Co Moto): Greater Than Stars Or Suns - Jonathan Summers
IV: The Explorers (Grave E Molto Adagio - Andante Co Moto): Sail Forth - Jonathan Summers
IV: The Explorers (Grave E Molto Adagio - Andante Co Moto): O My Brave Soul! - Jonathan Summers

Tracks:

I. Lento - Allegro Risoluto - London Philharmonic Orchestra
II. Lento - London Philharmonic Orchestra
III. Scherzo (Nocturne): Allegro Vivace - London Philharmonic Orchestra
IV. Andante Con Moto - Maestoso Alla Marcia (Quasi Lento) - Allegro - London Philharmonic Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme - London Philharmonic Orchestra

Tracks:

I: Molto Moderato - Amanda Roocroft
II: Lento Moderato - London Philharmonic Orchestra
II: Moderato Pesante - Presto - London Philharmonic Orchestra
IV: Lento - Moderato Maestoso - London Philharmonic Orchestra
I: Allegro - London Philharmonic Orchestra
II: Andante Moderato - London Philharmonic Orchestra
III: Scherzo: Allegro Molto - London Philharmonic Orchestra
IV: Finale Con Epilogo Fugato: Allegro Molto - London Philharmonic Orchestra

Tracks:

I: Preludio: Moderato - Sarah Chang
II: Scherzo: Presto - Sarah Chang
III: Romanza: Lento - Sarah Chang
IV: Passacaglia: Moderato - Sarah Chang
Norfolk Rhapsody No.1 - Sarah Chang
Romance For Violin And Orchestra - Sarah Chang

Tracks:

I: Allegro - Ian Bostridge
II: Moderato - Ian Bostridge
III: Scherzo: Allegro Vivace - Ian Bostridge
IV: Epilouge: Moderato - Ian Bostridge
In The Fen Country - Ian Bostridge
I: On The Wenlock Edge - Ian Bostridge
II: From Far, From Eve And Morning - Ian Bostridge
III: Is My Team Ploughing? - Ian Bostridge
IV: Oh, When I Was In Love With You - Ian Bostridge
V: Bredon Hill - Ian Bostridge
VI: Clun - Ian Bostridge

Tracks:

I: Prelude: Maestoso - London Philharmonic Choir
II: Scherzo: Moderato - London Philharmonic Choir
III: Landscape: Lento - London Philharmonic Choir
IV: Intermezzo: Andante Sostenuto - London Philharmonic Choir
V: Epilogue: Alla Marcia, Moderato (Non Troppo Allegro) - London Philharmonic Choir

Tracks:

I: Fantasia: Moderato - Presto - Andante Sostenuto - Allegretto - Andante Non Troppo - Allegro Vivace - Andante Sostenuto - Tempo I, Ma Tranquillo - London Philharmonic Orchestra
II: Scherzo Alla Marcia: Allegro Alla Marcia - Andante - Tempo I (Allegro) - London Philharmonic Orchestra
III: Cavatina: Lento Espressivo - London Philharmonic Orchestra
IV: Toccata: Moderato Maestoso - London Philharmonic Orchestra
I: Moderato Maestoso - London Philharmonic Orchestra
II: Andante Sostenuto - London Philharmonic Orchestra
III: Scherzo: Allegro Pesante - London Philharmonic Orchestra
IV: Andante Tranquillo - London Philharmonic Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

VW Can't miss.......2007-04-01

It would take a lot of effort to make these works anything but wonderful to my ( untrained) ear. I have other versions of Symphonies 3 & 5, Tallis, and Lark, but am not that familiar with the rest. I bought the CD set just to hear them. VW's music goes straight to my soul, perhaps because I was born about 40 km ( 25 miles ) from the composer. These works evoke instant nostalgia. Haintink, the orchestra , soloists, sound fine. I particularly enjoyed Ian Bostridge.

Vaughan Williams the Great European Symphonist.......2004-12-15

2004 Has been a good year for Box Sets of Vaughan Williams Symphonies. Best of the bunch is this one from EMI with Bernard Haitink conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Do not be put off by the lengthy gestation of the project, over 16 years between 1984 and 2000, there is a consistency of interpretation, performance and sound.

Haitink's first recording in the set of the 7th Symphony, the Sinfonia Antarctica is his manifesto. He takes Vaughan Williams out of the cosy world of 20th century British music and the interpretive shadow cast by Adrian Boult and places him in an ongoing tradition of European symphonists. Haitink revels in the richness of the symphony's sound worlds and in the romantic heart which he finds in them all. These are rich, big boned interpretations. Nowhere more so than in this 7th Symphony, from the episodic feast of the first movement onwards, and there is surely no recording with a more appropriate acoustic.

The First in the cycle , `A Sea Symphony" is startling, as conductor, orchestra and singers burn a new way to the heart of this huge work with a searingly intense first movement.

The Second, A London Symphony has many fine recordings. Here the louder passages are brash, boisterous and thoroughly urban. Vaughan Williams loved city life and would surely have approved.

The Third, A Pastoral Symphony is one of the most striking reinterpretations here, and perhaps the hardest to take for traditionalists. Boult's mystical manipulation of blocks of chords with solo instruments floating above them is replaced with lyrical argument.

The furies at the heart of the Fourth Symphony are set free to great effect, as they are in the Sixth Symphony. Haitink excels in the demonic dance music in both symphonies and the jazz elements in the Sixth are enthusiastically articulated

If the interpretation of the Pastoral Symphony is striking, that of the 8th is a complete transformation, and one that convinces. No longer is this a small symphony, here it is the considerable utterance of a master.

The Fifth symphony is its radiant self, but the questions that also inhabit the score are welcomed, giving this performance light and shade.

The Ninth Symphony, sometimes considered a difficult work sounds like a natural summation of Vaughan Williams musical journey. It is a suitable epitaph, autumnal but radiating vigour.

There are a number of filler works here, like the Symphonies some are radical reinterpretations. I am not convinced by this Variations on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. In The Lark Ascending the programme is forgotten and it becomes a one movement concerto with a continuous violin line.

Haitink's interpretations are not for everyone. If you want modern a modern equivalent of Boult with good digital sound choose the Vernon Handley Set on Classics For Pleasure. That also has the benefit of a more generous selection of extra works. If you want to hear exciting modern performances in exemplary sound snap up this bargain box.

Average customer rating:

An excellent version for the poetry
Music of Power, Majesty, and Melodic Beauty
Vast, Fresh and Wild as the Sea Itself
Behold ! The Symphony itself . . .
Actually 4.75 Stars is what I wanted to give

Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Vaughan Williams: Sinfonia Antartica/The Wasps
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5
Vaughan Williams: An Oxford Elegy/ Flos Campi/ Sancta Civitas/ etc.
Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony; Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music; The Lark Ascending; Fantasia on Greensleeves; English Folk Song Suite; In the Fen Country; Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1

ASIN: B000002S2N
Release Date: 1991-09-12

Tracks:

A Sea Symphony: Behold, The Sea Itself
A Sea Symphony: Today A Rude Brief Recitative
A Sea Symphony: Flaunt Out, O Sea, Your Separate flags Of Nations!
A Sea Symphony: Token Of All Brave Captains
A Sea Symphony: A Pennant Universal
A Sea Symphony: On The Beach At Night, Alone
A Sea Symphony: Alone A Vast Similitude Interlocks All
A Sea Symphony: III. Scherzo: The Waves (Allegro Brillante)
A Sea Symphony: O Vast Rondure, Swimming In Space
A Sea Symphony: Down From The Gardens Of Asia Descending
A Sea Symphony: O We Can Wait No Longer
A Sea Symphony: O Thou Transcendent
A Sea Symphony: Greater Than Stars Or Suns
A Sea Symphony: Sail Forth
A Sea Symphony: O My Brave Soul!

Customer Reviews:

An excellent version for the poetry.......2005-10-04

I admire this recording as much as all the other reviewers, but it has a special quality that isn't present on, for example, the Slatkin version on RCA. You can understand the poetry sung by the soloists. This clarity results because EMI has put the singers far forward, a wise decision. When the soprano and baritone are imbeddded sonically halfway betwee the chorus and orchestra--the usual practice--the vast forces arrayed against htem drown out the words.

Not here. VW had a deep feeling for Walt Whitman, nad it's crucial to hear the verses. Try the second movement "On the Beach At Night, Alone," where the sensitive singing of John Carol Case can be deciphered word for word without a libretto. Now listen to Thomas Allen on the Slatkin recording, and barely a word can be heard at times. (Because of her ample vibrato, Sheila Armstrong, sadly, is not nearly as clear, but putting her forward at least allows her to sing without strain.) As a lover of Whitman's verse, I consider this an important feature of the Boult reading.

Music of Power, Majesty, and Melodic Beauty.......2002-09-01

I fell asleep at a performance of Vaughan Williams' "A Sea Symphony" some years ago. It is a LONG piece. I would not recommend it as a first Vaughan Williams purchase, unless you are a particular fan of choral music.
On the other hand, I couldn't ignore it. Robert Shaw (America's "Mr. Choral Music") described this symphony on the radio as "the most beautiful piece of choral music written in the 20th century". Wow! That covers 100 years, you know. And I deeply enjoy other pieces by RVW, including his Four Hymns and Five Mystical Songs.
So I bought this CD and now, instead of listening to this 70-minute symphony in one very long sweep, I listen to songs and sections.
The symphony is a setting of poems by Walt Whitman that celebrate human daring, and RVW matched that by writing an immense symphony. If you have not heard this symphony before, you could not imagine the sonic images Vaughan Williams creates for ships, sailors, and the sea. The first notes at the music's very beginning have the full chorus and orchestra at top voice
singing "Behold, the Sea itself!" It is startlingly majestic, and yet it is followed by an almost vulgarly pop and spiky little tune for male voice (baritone) and bassoon that I now sing everyday while shaving "today, a rude brief recitative about ships sailing the sea ..." The diversity is wonderful - Vaughan Williams must have oozed all kinds of music, since he composed the hushed hymn-like Tallis Fantasia at about the same time.
If you are new to Vaughan Williams, I would suggest you purchase Boult's wonderful collection of short RVW compositions first. It is also in EMI's British Composers series. It has the lovely and songful "Serenade to Music", the tune-filled and simple "English Folk Song Suite", and the lovely beyond words and soul-filled "The Lark Ascending." As a first symphonic purchase, the "London Symphony" (#2) is wonderful. But if you know Vaughan Williams already and just don't know "the Sea Symphony", fear not: It is a great score. The quality and variety of the melodies is deeply satisfying; the rhythms swing and stride at one moment and are raptly processional at another; the harmonies are rich and can be colorful or strange and foreboding; the orchestra is used idiosyncratically. The sonic range is enormous: the baritone sings quietly in meditation of the sea at night at one point, and at another the entire chorus calls out in joy, "Sail forth!"
There are several recordings of this symphony. Which to choose? You cannot go wrong with this CD. This performance has been admired for a generation. I might prefer Thomas Allen's "rude brief recitative" for Leonard Slatkin, but the composer himself admired John Carol Case's singing (in "The Pilgrim's Progress") and Adrian Boult had been performing Vaughan Williams' music for 40 years when this recording was made. He premiered major pieces. He knew Vaughan Williams' music as few others and he captures every mood. He sings and dances, meditates and exults.

Vast, Fresh and Wild as the Sea Itself.......2002-07-11

The combination of Whitman's wonderful poetry with Vaughan Williams' music is one of the happiest of artistic events; they each own the freshness of the outdoors, and a voice as strong as sunshine, and an effortless candor which must speak to any soul on the planet. Whitman's poetry WORKS in a way that all too little free verse works; think of it not as poetry, but as a poet singing his soul to you, and hear the music in the ideas and in the words, a music that runs deeper than simple meter and rhyme.

It were hard to imagine a performance which could do Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony better justice than this one under Sir Adrian Boult (hard to imagine, but if it's out there, reserve me a seat). The immensity of the opening chorus, the plain honest sea-shanty which John Carol Case makes look easy, the purity of Sheila Armstrong's voice - a choir and orchestra whose love for the music shines through every bar ... "All lives and all deaths, all of the past, present, future, / This vast similitude spans them, and always has spanned, / And shall forever span them and shall compactly hold and enclose them."

Behold ! The Symphony itself . . ........2002-03-27

THE FIRST SYMPHONY created by the great British musician, arranger, conductor and composer, is a complete choral symphony. It was perhaps the first of it's kind since Sibelius's earlier `Kullervo', a choral symphony of 1892 (often referred to as a "symphonic cantata" or "symphonic poem"), and Beethoven's Ninth---taking into account that the latter is a "choral" work in part, not entirely. It was in 1910 that the first performance of A Sea Symphony took place. The English composer Granville Bantock conceived the bold idea of symphonies "for voices only" ; he wrote his unusual "choral symphonies" in 1911 and 1913. Gustav Holst's First Choral Symphony (with words by Keats) was given its premiere in Leeds Town Hall on 7 October 1925. It was created for soprano solo, chorus and orchestra, but was admittedly of lesser scope than that of his counterpart. In fact, Vaughan Williams---like Holst---was an innovator in his use of the materiau on the symphonic terrain, fusing large choral parts with the prevalent forms of orchestral music---in any case, this could serve also to reveal how both were partially indebted to Parry and Elgar. In an immensely interesting article, Dr. Jack Sullivan wrote of A Sea Symphony : "Like the poetry, the music has a little of everything. It is part symphony, part oratorio, part opera, and part `fantasia' (a favorite Vaughan Williams form). The slow movement and Scherzo have traditional ABA formats, but the huge outer movements (even with the hidden sonata form in the first) seem to invent their forms as they proceed, echoing the `organic' principle of Whitman's free verse. The hymn-like finale, aptly subtitled `The Explorers', is almost a symphony in itself, one without closure. Refusing to end, it fades `farther' and yet `farther' out to a sea whose depths are subliminally suggested by whispers in the lower strings". (Please note that ABA is symbolizing ternary form in which the first section A precedes and follows a second section B, a form so common in classical song that its also called 'song form' -or sonata form- while AB is a musical form that has two sections, A followed by B, and is known as 'binary form')

For a very first attempt at writing a symphony, in such a huge scale, the result was far from a failure. Quite to the opposite, the fascinating verses of Whitman are well integrated to the orchestral element ; by means of almost seamless musical procedures, what i am tempted to term "the sailcloth of the symphony," VW developed a singular way in constructing an orchestral edifice. Thanks to the lyrics, the work has a mystical feel to it---since Whitman's poems are like the footpath to a sort of initiation, much like a ritual, a "rite of passage" for the soul pointing perhaps `toward the unknown region' of immortality :

Darest thou now O soul,
Walk out with me toward the unknown region,
Where neither ground is for the feet
nor any path to follow.

- Excerpts from Toward the Unknown Region (1906) ; from `Leaves of Grass'.

I think it is significant that VW took inspiration from the great American writer, for not only did he used texts for A Sea Symphony and Toward the Unknown Region, but also for `Dona nobis pacem' and some songs such as `Nocturne', `A Clear Midnight' and `Joy, shipmate, joy'. Perhaps i should quote a reviewer for classical.net : "Here is a composer who apparently loved Whitman. He used Whitman's works as a basis for his First Symphony - `The Sea' and `Toward the Unknown Region'. It is interesting that this English composer seems to so deeply understand the poetry of Walt Whitman. [...] The music flows from the rhythm inherent in the language." Incidentally, in the same tone is the poem `A Clear Midnight' - excerpt from `Leaves of Grass' (1900) :

This is thy hour, O soul,
thy free flight into the wordless . . .

Attempts at describing the composer as either a "visionary" or a sort of "seer", not quite in conformity with his humble and candid personality, fits a lot more with the mystic literary works of Whitman. Therefore, we can assume a kind of complementary connection took place between Whitman and VW, binding together unrelated (though neighbored) art forms in the best interest of both---such was the case, to great effect, with A Sea Symphony.

If i'd have to point toward the unknown regions of favorite traversals of this symphony, i'd go for Thomson and Boult. Bryden Thomson with the London Symphony brought what i hear as a tightly refined, let's say "well-balanced" reading. His opening, 'A Song for all Seas, all Ships', is resolute and really provides a subjective impression of huge waves and sail-ships. Other than Thomson's brilliant rendering, sir Adrian Boult's glorious account with the LPO (the EMI album), remains a grand interpretation. The very opening reveals poignant, mellifluous sounds that proclaim the greatness of seas through a sort of hymnic fanfare---a common trait of the "lyrical" Boult of the 1960's. This is a strong presentation. Vernon Handley with RLPO (EMI) offers an enticing version, still somewhat on the lower side of the chorus performance but otherwise excellent. Robert Spano's direction (Telarc) is one of the finest, and sound quality excels : Clearly a serious challenge for Boult's version. Spano's strength resides especially in his high-magnitude finale, probably unmatched on record. Paul Daniel (Naxos) offers a very good account on it's own but, still, not with quite the best sonics---at least when put side-by-side with the records i've mentioned earlier. Here, the Bournemouth and their conductor have taken a "safe" approach, managing adequately the orchestral balance and handling with care the numerous climaxes and contrasts of the score. Notwithstanding there are quite a few inspired moments, performance and sound aren't exactly on par with their gorgeous reading of the Fourth Symphony (also on Naxos).

There's a great deal of value in this reading from Boult, not to mention the almost unparalleled singing of Sheila Armstrong and John Carol Case. The London Philharmonic chorus is effective, and it is audibly more immersing than most other choruses (i've been a bit deceived by Andrew Davis's rendering of this symphony, mainly because of that). Needless to say, A Sea Symphony is very demanding on both musicians and singers. In a certain way, the work shares some features with the `Sinfonia antartica', even though there's no profound similitude pertaining to the "cinematic quality" of the latter ; instead, it is in terms of a bold, at times grandiose-sounding music where a connection exists. Boult's rendering portrays vividly those facets of the symphony.

Considering that there's a variety of very good recordings on cd's (i recommend you check out Slatkin, by the way), i think you cannot go wrong with any of them. Although it isn't the strongest record of A Sea Symphony, Andrew Davis (with the BBC, Teldec) has done a very good job ; his orchestration is refined (i like the way he dealt with the vocal quality of the music in 'On The Beach At Night Alone', in particular). And, perhaps, you shouldn't overlook Previn, as it is a very good account indeed (RCA). In order to get the best you should perhaps consider first Thomson, Spano, Handley and this fine version from Boult. If you don't mind monophonic sound, then the younger and perhaps tauter Boult on Decca should satisfy on its own : "Walt Whitman's soulful evocation of Man's relationship to the sea is fully realized. There is sincerity, commitment, adulation--but not vain self-importance. The chorus is especially fine."

A Sea Symphony was---and still is---a truly unique musical venture. Whitman's words sit perfectly on the surprisingly mature score, which is a fairly complex composition for a "first" symphonic essay. You'll hear the influence of Elgar somewhere (think about parts of Gerontius) as well as many other "flashes" that hark back to so many things. On the one hand, this is certainly a major symphonic work of the 20th century, not to mention that this could be one of the greatest choral works in history ; on the other hand, the work appears to age very well and the different recordings i've referred to have just proven how fresh and vital that work of art can appear today.
*****

Actually 4.75 Stars is what I wanted to give.......2000-02-05

Sir Adrian Boult.......he knew his Vaughn Williams. It is quite apparent when the chorus proclaims, "Behold, the Sea itself....." that this recording will bring a sense of fulfillment to the listener. There is something about the music of Vaughn Williams that says, "I am one of the most important composers of the 20th century. There are still valid things to say. The symphony is not dead, and I will prove that". This symphony demonstrates that even in the 20th century important music was being written. This recording demonstrates that important music was being performed and captured for future generations beautifully.

Average customer rating:

Good for what it is, however narrow.

Telarc SACD Sampler: The Absolute Sound

Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Telarc SACD Sampler: Sound and Vision
Concord Records SACD Sampler 1 (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)
Concord Jazz Sampler Vol.2
Telarc SACD Jazz Sampler, Vol. 3
Dark Side of the Moon 30th Anniversary Edition

ASIN: B000CRR3Q0
Release Date: 2006-01-24

Customer Reviews:

Good for what it is, however narrow........2006-11-09

The Absolute Sound has been a premiere audiophile rag for decades. If you are one, you already know them. If not, then there is only a small chance their magazine will be useful to you. They have another publication for home theatre, "Perfect Vision" which has far broader appeal these days. SACD is the format for this disk. Many of them are pressed in "hybrid" for use on conventional CD players. SACD is a significant improvement on the CD, which initially promised "perfect sound forever".

Telarc is a particularly high quality label that supports SACD. They have a fine list of recordings that extends far beyond these chestnuts.

To appreciate this improvement you need to have a SACD player. So the best use of this disk is to bring it with you to different audio stores to audition their equipment. Over time it functions as a reference disk, or benchmark, as you compare different sound systems.

Because it has only bleeding hunks of well known classical music, it has little other value unless you are interested in classical music but have little experience of it. In that case it may serve as a sampler to lead you to buy complete recordings of these selections. But again you need the SACD player, which you may already have if you are a jazz or rock audiophile. Otherwise, pass it by.

Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony [Hybrid SACD]

Average customer rating:

Superb Performance and Recording of a Great Work
NOT QUITE GOOD ENOUGH TO SEE OFF THE BEST

Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3; Poulenc: Organ Concerto; Barber: Toccata Festiva
Carl Nielsen, Orchestral Music
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2; Dances from Aleko; Scherzo [Hybrid SACD]
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; The Seasons ("July"-"December") [SACD ]
Mahler: Symphony No. 3

ASIN: B000MEYHGC
Release Date: 2007-03-27

Tracks:

Allegro Vivace
1. A Song For All Seas, All Ships-Moderato Maestoso
2. On The Beach At Night, Alone-Largo Sostenuto
3. Scherzo. The Waves-Allegro Brillante
4. The Explorers-Grave E Molto Adagio

Customer Reviews:

Superb Performance and Recording of a Great Work.......2007-04-12

Vaughan Williams "A Sea Symphony" is one of the greatest and most inspiring works of the 20th century, with excepts from Walt Whitman's masterpiece, "Leaves of Grass". No other work better captures the majesty and beauty of the Sea. Here we have, if I'm not mistaken, the first live recording ever produced by Chandos and the audience is extremely quite to the point of not even knowing they are their. This is a very complex work to perform and record with it's extremely large forces. Richard Hickox does an amazing job at handling all the forces involved. The chorus sounds sumptuous yet precise and the sections are very well defined across the front stereo spread. The balance between chorus and orchestra is almost perfect. Gerald Finley does a superb job with just the right emotional inflections with his dark voluptuous baritone voice. The surround sound places him right of center in front of the orchestra and Susan Gritton left of center. Susan Gritton is not quite as strong or beautifully voiced as Gerald but she still sounds great. The eeb and flow that Hickox creates is wonderful. Overall the ambiance in the Barbican Centre where this performance took place is very good with a perfect 2 second decay time. What also impressed me about this recording were the subtleties and nuances of phrasing during the quiet passages such as "And all that went down doing their duty" in the first movement and "Wherefore, unsatisfied soul? Whither O mocking life?" in the last movement are very moving. The overture to "The Wasps" is a great opening and played with aplumb.

Two caveats; the timpani tends to get muddy and lacks definition. Listen to Leonard Slatkin's performance of this work for RCA for excellent timpani sound and the second caveat is the organ is barely audible. Chandos own recording from 1989 with Bryden Thompson conducting has more audible organ.

Also impressive is the dynamic range of this Hickox performance. It is extreme and adds greatly to the high drama of this work. I found that I had to listen to this with the volume turned higher them normal to get the right level for the soft passages. But the load passages did not irritate my ears like a normal CD (Red Book). Oh, I did listen to the regular CD layer as well and it sounds very good indeed but lacks the dynamic range and subtleties of the SACD stereo layer and of course the 3 dimensionality of the SACD 5 channel layer. If you don't have one already, you really must get an SACD player to really hear the natural beauty of the SACD format. The timbre of the instruments is particularly revealed in SACD. Also you will notice that your ears to not get fatigued which happens when listeing to regular CDs.

Some short remarks about past recordings: The old standard has always been Sir Adrian Boult's 1968 recording done in Kingsway Hall (renowned for it's great acoustics but was torn down in the early 1980's). Unfortunately, that old recording shows very dead acoustics and lacks details compared to this new recording by Hickox. Listen to the opening fanfare of the Boult recording and listen to the reverberation decay time, it's almost none existent. This new Hickox recording is warm and sumptuous with a nice 2 second reverberation decay time from the Barbican hall. Leonard Slatkin's recording done in Abby Road Studio 1 is actually very good as well. But the strongest competition comes from Chandos own catalog with, not surprisingly, the same forces, The London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus but this time conducted by Bryden Thompson and different soloists recorded in the spacious acoustics of St. Judes Church, Central Square, London, but its lack of detail shows compared to this new recording. I wish Chandos would have recorded this new Hickox performance at St. Judes Church, Central Square, London or Chandos other favorite venue, All Saints Church, Tooting. With the added detail of SACD I think it would have been truely great.

All in all this new recording by Hickox is the current best. And I find that I'm listening to the Hickox recording again and again and not getting tired of it. It is so beautiful. I give it 4.6 stars (had to round up to 5), not a perfect score due to the 2 caveats mentioned earlier.

NOT QUITE GOOD ENOUGH TO SEE OFF THE BEST.......2007-04-03

This is a very fine performance of VW's Sea Symphony, if not quite enough to efface memories of some of the classics. It's up against pretty fierce competition in the shape of Boult's first recording for Decca with a stunning soprano soloist in Isobel Baillie, though in mono sound, as well as his second recording with EMI which benefits from warm, glorious sound recorded in the old Kingsway Hall. There's also Handley and Haitink to contend with, both also on EMI who seem to come out of this pretty well with three of the top performances on their label.

The sound on the Hickox disc, despite much more recent vintage, is not really up there with Boult 2 or Haitink. This is a live performance given at the Barbican and does suffer from the kind of slightly desiccated sound that hall always seems to produce. Vaughan Williams' orchestra and chorus in full flight or even in some of the quieter passages in the Finale benefits enormously from a bit more bloom, a bit more spaciousness, a bit more room to expand than they get here.

The performance itself would also benefit from a touch more expansiveness, particularly in the opening movement. It lacks both the overwhelming surge of a Boult or a Handley and the symphonic cogency of Haitink. Hickox's enormous experience with choruses means that, in many ways, the movement that comes off best is the Scherzo which flashes and sparkles with great precision and rhythmic alertness in the singing. Those last notes which are left hanging in the air (shamelessly borrowed by VW's own admission from Beethoven's Missa Solemnis) leave the listener with a truly hair-raising sense of expectancy. And that expectancy is largely fulfilled by a profound and moving Finale which genuinely explores the profundity of Walt Whitman's somewhat purple, questing poetry. The soloists, Susan Gritton and Gerald Finley, rise admirably to the challenge of the ecstatic, soaring lines of `O we can wait no longer' before the whole ensemble subsides to the dreamy, pp view of eternity on `O farther sail' at the end.

It's a performance, then, that takes a while to get into its stride. Once there (in the Scherzo and Finale) it is as fine as most. But overall, Boult, Haitink or Handley are still the place to start for this big and glorious work.

The Symphony is preceded by a fun account of The Wasps Overture, giving full rein to the Big Tune.

Average customer rating:

Indomitable, Untamed as the Sea
The 'Sea Symphony' needed this recording
A good compromise, but there are better.
Calmer seas
Almost, but not quite.

Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony
Ralph Vaughan Williams , Robert Spano , Brett Polegato , and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5/Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Dvorák: Requiem
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade / Russian Easter Overture
Sibelius: Kullervo
Vaughan Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem/Four Hymns/Toward The Unknown Region/O Clap Your Hands/Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Re

ASIN: B00006AAV7
Release Date: 2002-07-23

Tracks:

A Song For All Seas, All Ships
On The Beach At Night, Alone
Scherzo: The Waves
The Explorers

Amazon.com

This beautifully recorded, no-nonsense, not overly sentimental, quick-tempo account of Vaughan Williams's lush choral symphony is most welcome. It's a work that matches the mystical--Walt Whitman's poetry--with some folklike sea rhythms Vaughan Williams tosses into the mix. Though it's perhaps not as warm as some versions, conductor Robert Spano opts for lots of excitement in the grand moments ("Sail forth" in the last movement, for instance). The warmth is written into the music anyway and is present no matter what. The second movement's stillness is as impressive as the "perfect storm" sections. The playing of the Atlanta Symphony is big and beautiful, and soprano Christine Goerke sings brightly and with ease. Her voice is just the right weight to ride the climaxes and sound intimate in the gentler moments. This is highly recommended. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Indomitable, Untamed as the Sea.......2006-02-22

Atlanta's recording is terrific. The sound is unmatched. Each soloist, Brett Polegato and Christine Goerke seem to be given free reign to explore the untamed Sea with their talents.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus both give outstanding performances of heart and soul. The piece is difficult to maneuver with the storms and gusty winds of the Scherzo, but both come out to the calm of the storm and sail into the deep waters.

The 'Sea Symphony' needed this recording.......2005-10-20

I wasn't entirely converted to VW's first symphony until I heard this ecording. First of all, this is the only truly modern recording of the work, in the sense that chorus, orchestra, and soloists are caught with tremenduos impact and clarity. One can undersstand the words sung by the chorus; there is no muddiness in even the most overwhelming cimaxes--and this work has lots of them. There is transparency and power combined.

Spano helps dust off the old oratorio mustiness that many British performances suffer from. Fast tempos are actually fast, and there is no attempt to be overtly grand--reaching for the sublime has sunk many an older preformance in pomposity. Since the soloists adopt Whitman's American accent, I find that the words sound truer to the poetry than when sung with English accents.

All of this may mean little to those who are staunch believers in this sprawling, discursive work, whose musical ideas sometimes verge on the uninspired. I wasn't a believer, and yet after hearing this dynmaic, propulsive reading--but one full of sensitive detail--I count myself a fan. One of the reasons this Telarc recording has won so much acclaim in the U.S., I imagine, is that other American listeners had the same reaction.

A good compromise, but there are better........2004-07-15

This recording has much going for it, headed by Telarc's splendid sound, and definitely the best choral singing ever of this work. Spano is totally commited to it, breaking into tears at the Carnergie Hall performce I attended. Yet I would rate this #3 on my chosen list of "Sea Symphony" recordings. At #2 is Handley and the Royal Liverpool Orchestra. Yes, there are screamers in the chorus and some ensemble work is a bit ragged, but there is more excitement in the climaxes, and more flow in the introspective sections. #1 if you can find this out-of-print version is the Slatkin Philharmonia recording on RCA. Pacing, structure, flow, excitment AND a properly balanced organ make it still the champ, especially when following with the conductor's score. What RVW wrote is ALL there. No unwanted ritards like in the Haitink, no lollygagging when forward movement is demanded, and plenty of restful beauty when it is. Yes, get this album to hold you until you can find the Slatkin, then hear ALL the beautiy and power Ralph wrote!

Calmer seas.......2003-09-20

A not totally convincing approach to Ralph Vaughan Williams' first and biggest symphony. The waves don't loom as high or crash with quite the same force as in the excellent Slatkin recording or Sir Adrian Boult's 1953 monaural version. There are some unqualified pluses here: The singing of the Atlanta Symphony Chorus is technically the best I've heard in this work; their enunciation makes their British counterparts sound a bit mush-mouthed--and they even manage credibly English diction without overdoing it. Baritone Brett Polegato, as another Amazon poster noted, sings his part, and while his tone is a tad light compared to, say, John Shirley-Quirk (for Previn) or Jonathan Summers (for Haitink), he is also unfailingly musical and a pleasure to listen to. Christine Goerke, on the other hand, is a little too heavy-toned, and her rendition of the soprano part really belongs in a larger-scale reading of this symphony.

And large-scale this performance is not. While conductor Robert Spano clarifies the textures and generates plenty of forward momentum with his faster-than-usual tempos (tempos that I suspect would have been the norm when this piece was new), he also filters out a lot of the very "power and grandeur" he professes to admire in the score, according to the CD's liner notes. It's telling that the (admittedly optional) organ part, which adds heft to climactic passages in other performances, is omitted from this recording, and that the third-movement scherzo is the highlight of this performance. The second movement "On the beach at night, alone" is the least mysterious and star-gazing rendition I've heard, even if it is beautifully sung by Polegato and the chorus. The audio production matches the performance: clear and forthright, yet hardly majestic.

In short, a different and even refreshing "take" on VW's "A Sea Symphony" that has a lot going for it, but not one for the ages.

Almost, but not quite........2003-09-17

I'll nail my colours to the mast by stating that the Sea symphony is my least favourite of Vaugham Williams nine, but I bought this (rather than wait until the Hickox came out) because wanted to see who got closest, the American reviewers who praised it to the skies (especially for sonics) or good old anglo-centric, anglo-philiac Gramophone (who gently disparaged it). Needless to say, my reaction comes about half way between the two.

The sonics have been widely praised and won a Grammy. I can understand the praise and the win, - the recording copes with every crashing wave and orchestral climax, and this is a performance which keeps 'em coming. It captures voices beautifully and for most of the time choir and orchestra are clearly and naturally presented. My only real complaint is that, especially in the first movement, I felt that the soundstage wasn't integrated, - it was as if two different orchestras and choirs were playing almost, but not quite simultaneously, left and right. Maybe my ears accommodated, because it didnt bother me after that. A more minor complaint is my usual one that there is more to most music than a contrast between loud and soft (not that the performance would indicate that) and there is less mid-range warmth than I'd like. Like the performance, the sound is a bit monochromatic.

You'll have gathered by now that I'm not rapt in the performance, though it has many good individual features. The Choir is truly excellent and the Atlanta SO yet again, virtuosic. Baritone Brett Polegato is a little light on but is warm- rather than acid- toned, as some light baritones can be. He also sings tunefully, instead of with that strangulated anal-hernia, plum-mouthed voice that english male singers tend to put on for english music.

The principal problems are with soprano Christine Goerke and Spano's overall guidance. Ms Goerke is one of that breed of soprano who would have been better born a mezzo, - she warbles uncomfortably at times and ends up hooting and braying. When she's caught in the middle-register, which, to be fair to her, is most of the time, she's very good, but when she strays outside it, her shortcomings are exposed. There is just no compariosn between her and (my own favourite in this piece) Felicity Lott (for Hairink) or Joan Rodgers (for Handley). Lott, in particular, captures the sensuality of the writing, in a way which neither Spano nor Ms. Goerke begin to realise.

And that's my main problem with Spano's direction. Yes, it is meant to be fast and furious and it certainly generates the "Wow" factor. And yes, let's face it, the symphony can be pretty boring. Spano shaves some 10 minutes off Haitink, and there are some gains in this approach in terms of excitement. The problem is, that's all you get. Like the recording's fixation on loud and soft, Mr Spano's is on fast and slow. Again, there's nothing in the middle, nor at the fringes. No subtlety, no sensuality (and surely Whitman's words call for them). This sea is all storm and movement, no sunshine or shallows. That's where Haitink is so good, at maintaining intellectual control over this sprawling canvass whilst recognising colour and variation, features which Mr Spano doesn't even attempt to find. And Handley too finds more warmth in the sea than Spano, - there's a gulf stream in his performance, whereas it's clear Spano hasn't even been to the beach in Georgia.

Tracks:

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

Customer Reviews:

RESTORES ONE'S FAITH IN HONEST MUSIC MAKING.......2007-03-29

Thank God for Tod Handley. I vividly recall a year or two back, feeling particularly jaundiced after a succession of glitzy, superficial concerts by conductors far starrier and younger, having my faith in real music making restored by a Handley concert which included a scintillating Schubert Little C Major and a profoundly moving VW Sea Symphony.

That work, of course, is the springboard for this cycle of complete VW symphonies. And a very satisfying journey through this inspiring canon of nine it is, too. Handley's affinity with English music needs no reiterating, but his relationship with Vaughan Williams in particular is a special one. More than most, he is alive to the changing and developing nature of the different symphonies through Vaughan Williams life - from the rich Romantic panoply of the 1st, taking in the influence of study with Ravel in the 3rd, the violence of Nos.4 & 6 and the idealisation of his Pilgrim music as well as that of his beloved Tudor composers in the Fifth, right through to the exploration of new sonorities and form in 7, 8 and 9. Throughout the cycle, this is music making that is honest, perceptive, communicative and frequently illuminating and inspiring.

Handley's Sea Symphony has terrific sweep in the opening movement, ideal rhythmic crispness in the scherzo and real depth in the long, questing Finale. Its one drawback is perhaps the somewhat cramped acoustics of Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall compared to, say, the fuller sound of the Kingsway Hall in Boult's second recording. His London Symphony is as fine as any, though I do now miss the passages opened out in Hickox's recording of the Original Version.

I'm inclined to think this the best Pastoral of any on disc: it finds Handley very sensitive to all the overtones of VW's experiences of the Great War that lie behind its overt pastoralism - Flanders Fields as much as English ones. This is followed by a stunning Fourth, matched only by the composer's own performance. The grinding dissonances of its motto motif, the bounce of the jazzier rhythms, the dark Beethovenian transition to the Finale are all perfectly realised: "I don't know if I like it, but it's what I meant" in VW's famous phrase and I feel sure Handley's performance is just what he meant.

The Fifth finds fierce competition from Boult (twice), Barbirolli (twice) and Haitink (most purely symphonic of all). But Handley strikes a fine balance between the Pilgrim's Progress antecedents of much of the material and the `absolute music' arguments to which it is subjected. This disc is almost worth it for the glorious horn counterpoint at the climax of the first movement alone, picked out by Handley as by no other conductor in my experience. His Sixth is another blistering reading to set beside that of his mentor, Boult, in mono for Decca. Handley's pp final movement here is too mystical to be mistaken for the post-nuclear landscape it's often compared to - it seems closer to VW's great friend, Holst's, Neptune. Pacing and colour are the strengths of this Antarctica, but only Haitink really succeeds in making it sound truly symphonic. And No.8 was always the domain of its dedicatee, `Glorious John' Barbirolli, who seemed to have the secret of its somewhat obtuse Variations without a Theme opening movement, its Bartokian Strings only and Wind only inner movements and the clangour of its Finale with `all the phones and spiels know to the composer'. However the elusive 9th is one of the best of Handley's set. He really seems to understand its deep, dark, Hardyesque mysteries, grounded as those novels seem to be in the very earth and land of England, as well as its further explorations of intriguing sonorities with the use of flugelhorn and saxophones.

The fill-ups from the original discs are here as well, including a fine Job and a superb Flos campi, another elusive work that seems to speak of secrets that are not to be found in the VW biographies. These are all considerable performances that reflect Handley's long-standing empathy with and authority in this music. And all at a bargain price.

Excellence throughout.......2004-10-16

On balance, this is probably the best set of Vaughan Williams symphonies out there today. Vernon Handley was a protege of Adrian Boult and you can hear a likeness in the way the two approach the music of their countryman. Boult may have had an advantage, being alive at a time Vaughan Williams was composing and premiering a number of the symphonies after they were composed.

The passage of time has left us two outstanding sets of Vaughan Williams symphonies by Boult, including a latter stereo version. I have heard both sets and they are wonderful. I prefer this one, however. Handley does things with some of the lesser played Vaughan Williams scores that, I believe, gives him an edge as the best of today's interpreters.

His version of the "Sea" Symphony No. 1 -- which is not a favorite of mine -- stacks up with anything out there. It avoids the bombastic approach taken by some conductors that do not completely understand the music or Vaughan Williams style. Even the new Atlanta Symphony version of the "Sea" Symphony does not exceed the vigor, loveliness and fine singing on parade under Handley's baton.

Handley also does wonderful things with the lesser known Symphonies 8 and 9, which some critics went wow over when Bernard Haitink recorded them together on one CD a few years back. Personally, I never heard the message of the dramatic 8th Symphony until I listened to this set.

Handley is hardly at a loss in the more well-known symphonies, either. His renditions of the "London" Symphony 2, "Pastoral" Sympony 3, Symphony 4 and "Antarctica" Symphony 7 are up with the best versions ever recorded. Handley's version is the first time I ever heard the chimes of Big Ben in the "London" symphony. His trip to Antarctica in Symphony 7 is probably the best one out there today and rivals the famous mono version Boult did 50 years ago, less the spoken tracts at the beginning and between sections.

Handley is equally fine in Vaughan Williams two violent symphonies, Nos. 4 and 6. In Symphony 4, he is especially visionary, understanding that the composer was not really writing about the impending world war when he penned the symphony in the late 1930s. Vaughan Williams said it was more about human interaction and communication and you hear this from Handley, who eschews much of the needless violence other conductors put into the score.

It is only the Symphony No. 5 where I find a clear preference to versions by Andre Previn in either of his stereo versions. Previn's 1988 Telarc recording also includes "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis", perhaps Vaughan Williams' best-known melody. This is preferable to Handley's Symphony 5 diskmate, the "Flos Campi" Suite, which provides another moment for the Liverpool Philharmonic Choir to shine. Previn endows the wonderful symphony with more romance and emotion than Handley.

That's not to say Handley's recording is a dog. Hardly! His is an exquisite recording of some of the world's most beautiful music. It lacks little and competes with the best out there. All told, this is a five star set with beautiful and, when appropriate, powerful and visceral playing from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

There are other fine Vaughan Williams set extant -- both Boult sets, the exceptionally well-recorded Thomson on Chandos, various recordings by Previn & Hickox and those by Bakels on Naxos -- but no complete set quite captures Ralph Vaughan Williams as three dimensionally as this one. My only complaint is Classics for Pleasure could have mated Handley's equally brilliant version of "Job: A Masque for Dancing" with one of the shorter symphonies and did not.

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 1-9 / Boult

Average customer rating:

Best of Boult's Vaughan Williams
Vaughan Williams his way

Vaughan Williams: Symphonies 1-9 / Boult
Ralph Vaughan Williams , and Sir Adrian Boult
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1-7
Vaughan Williams: The Nine Symphonies; Job (Box Set)
Hindemith: Concert Music; Horn Concerto; Clarinet Concerto and others
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-6
Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony

ASIN: B00007A3E2
Release Date: 2004-04-13

Customer Reviews:

Best of Boult's Vaughan Williams.......2004-08-01

When I first encountered VW's symphonies in Boult's EMI stereo series, I enjoyed some of the performances (especially #2), but 3, 5 and 9 left me bored. I later heard the Previn series and found what was missing. Previn keeps a taut line through music that can easily sprawl, and his recorded sound is top-notch. This new Boult set has similar interpretive virtues and is far more interesting musically than the stereo recordings. While the strings in #2 are thin and #1 is boxy overall, the mono sound of 3-7 is generally good. Comparison between the mono 3 and 5 and the stereo versions just highlights the greater atmosphere and intensity of the mono performances. 2 and 4 are also exemplary interpretations. While I would not recommend this to the exclusion of other recordings, it is a wonderful supplement to the performances of Previn or Handley.

Vaughan Williams his way.......2004-06-27

The first few years I was married, my wife often said to me she felt like she was trying to "make you something you're not". She was insinuating that she had a vision of what the perfect man ought to be, and she would catch herself trying to make me that man. She reformed after a year or two and since has been more than content to let me be the man I am.

And that best describes what I feel about Sir Adrian Boult conducting Vaughan Williams in this collection. He lets the music speak for itself. He never tries to give particular emphasis to some element in the score as many conductors do. These recordings date from the 1950s, all but the 8th and 9th being mono. But the age of the recordings and the mono sound in no way detracts from the listening pleasure they bring. I put them alongside any of the competiton and these recordings hold their own or come out far ahead. I've compared them to three other complete cycles:

Boult/EMI - Amazon asin # B00004YA0V (8 CDs)
Handley/CFP - Amazon asin # B00006J3LP (7 CDs)
Previn/RCA - Amazon asin # B00011MK74 (6 CDs)

Compared to his own later readings on EMI, I find Boult gets a more restrained performance from the orchestra in these earlier Decca recordings, thus heightening the effect of letting the music speak for itself. And I find the Decca recording a little bit brighter and more well balanced. A good symphony to highlight this effect is the Sea Symphony. The choir in the EMI recording tries to hard to make the music sound good, where the choir in the Decca sounds relaxed, confident, unstrained. And the sound on the Decca is more open, less opaque than the EMI.

The Previn cycle is quite good throughout, and features several additional pieces, some of them rare in recordings (this Decca cycle occupies the fewest number of disks of the 4 cycles, 5, but only has the symphonies, nothing more). The obvious comparison with the Previn cycle is the Sinfonia Antartica, no. 7. Only Previn and this Decca recording include the narrative. Sir Ralph Richardson in the Previn is very dramatic and expressive, embellishing the text with much emotion. Sir John Gielgud on this Decca recording is by comparison quite unemotional; like Boult, he speaks eloquently enough to not seem monotonish, but lets the words do the talking, not his interpretation of the words. He makes a good fit for Boult's similar reading of the music. And Richardson makes a similarly good fit for Previn's more dramatic reading. I am quite fond of Previn's recording, but after I listen to the magnificent Boult reading here, I find myself appreciating Previn less, for he emphasizes one emotional element in the music at the cost of all others. The Decca was recorded 1952, but even today it is of demonstration quality, especially with the stunning organ in the ice fall scene. Try as hard as they may, no other recording has come close to this one, engineered by the famous John Culshaw.

Which brings me to the Handley recordings. Handley, incidentally, fully admitted he tried to capture the organ scene in Sinfonia Antartica as well the Boult/Culshaw recording, but couldn't quite pull it off. The 5th symphonty is for me the highlight of Handley's set. Handley's recording is a masterpiece both of musical interpretation and audio engineering. This Boult recording comes the closest I've heard to the Handly interpretively, perhaps even edging it out a little once again because of Boult's refusal to indulge in over expressiveness. The sound on the Handley has a littel bit of an edge, but not by much. The sound int eh Boult/Decca recording is nowhere near as lively and opulent as the Handley, but once again is far brighter and more open than the Boult/EMI.

Decca has pulled off one of the best engineering jobs with these remasterings. I found the sound to be excellent throughout. The Sea Symphony, Sinfonia Antartica, and Symphony No 9 in this set are not be missed by any Vaughan Williams fan.

So, does this get my top choice recommendation?

Maybe.

If it's going to be your only Vaughan Williams collection, I would recommend either the Previn or the Handley instead, for with those sets you get other pieces in addition to the symphonies, and thus a better representation of Vaughan Williams artistry. Boult's EMI set is the most comprehensive collection of works, and the readings of the symphonies are somewhat comparable to the Decca set, but the execution is nowhere close to the masterly execution in the Decca set, and thus diminishes its attractiveness.

But if you want the best collection of the symphonies and will supplement it with other choices for some of the other works, then by far I would chose this set for the symphonies.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

Music Review

The Rare Bacharach, Vol. 1: 1956-1978

From Sousa to Spielberg [Soundtrack]

Elly Ney

Alone Together: The Art of the Cocktail Piano

Galaxy Weekend by Boy George and Allister Whitehead [Import]

Heart of Zen: Serenity

Golden Voice [Import]

Fun

Live In Hyde Park [IMPORT] [Import]

Franz Schubert: Symphony Nos. 1- 6, 8 & 9/Grand Duo/Rosamunde [Box set]

Gambler [Import]

Canta Macondo: Hits Explosivos

Dejame Sonar Contigo

The Best of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac

La Historia