Grania & Diarmid

Edward Elgar, Simon Rattle, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Elgar: Enigma Variations / Falstaff / Grania & Diarmid
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (23) - Disc #1
1. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: Theme
2. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: I. C.A.E.
3. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: II. H.D.S.-P.
4. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: III. R.B.T.
5. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: IV. W.M.B.
6. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: V. R.P.A.
7. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: VI. Ysobel
8. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: VII. Troyte
9. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: VIII. W.N.
10. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: IX. Nimrod
11. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: X. Intermezzo: Dorabella
12. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: XI. G.R.S.
13. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: XII. B.G.N.
14. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: XIII. Romanza
15. Var on an Orig Theme ('Enigma') Op. 36: XIV. Finale: E.D.U.
16. Grania and Diarmid - Incidental Music Op.42: I. Incidental Music
17. Grania and Diarmid - Incidental Music Op.42: II. Funeral March
18. Falstaff - Symphonic Study in c Op.68: I. Falstaff and Prince Henry
19. Falstaff - Symphonic Study in c Op.68: II. Eastcheap - Gadshill - The Boar's Head, revelry and sleep
20. Falstaff - Symphonic Study in c Op.68: Dream Interlude
21. Falstaff - Symphonic Study in c Op.68: III. Falstaff's march
22. Falstaff - Symphonic Study in c Op.68: Interlude
23. Falstaff - Symphonic Study in c Op.68: IV. King Henry V's Progress

Larger Image

CD Details

All Artists: Edward Elgar, Simon Rattle, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Title: Elgar: Enigma Variations / Falstaff / Grania & Diarmid
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Angel Records
Release Date: 1/17/1995
Album Type: Import
Genre: Classical
Styles: Forms & Genres, Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music, Symphonies
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 724355500120

Similarly Requested CDs

	Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss Raising Sand Genres: Country, Folk, Pop Label: Rounder
28

	Various Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Capriccio Espagnol Genre: Classical Label: Delta
1

	Sly & Family Stone Sly & the Family Stone - Greatest Hits [Epic] Genres: Pop, R&B, Rock, Classic Rock Label: Sony
24

	Enya Memory of Trees Genres: International Music, New Age, Pop, Rock Label: © 1995 Warner Music UK Ltd. / Reprise Records
51

	Eels Beautiful Freak Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock Label: Dreamworks
18

	Natalie Imbruglia Left of the Middle Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock Label: RCA
45

CD Reviews

A Superb ENIGMA VARIATIONS!

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 04/20/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sir Simon Rattle knows Elgar inside out and this all-Elgar disc is ample proof. At the helm of his own City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra he pulls out some of the most elegant and passionate playing of the Variations on CD. And as deeply felt as the famous 'Nimrod variation' is (and this is surely the most heartfelt as any ever performed), the other more brisk and refined movements are equally well played. It is, for this listener, the most successful ENIGMA VARIATIONS on record.

The remainder of this satisfying disc contains the obscure 'Incidental Music for Grania and Diarmid' composed for a play in 1901 (the Enigma set was composed in 1899) and it is apt Celtic sounding tunes that befit the story written by George Moore in collaboration with WB Yeats. The orchestration is rich and nearly Wagnerian. While not perhaps Elgar's greatest work, it bears repeated listenings.

The remaining work on this recording is the 'Falstaff Symphonic Study in C minor' composed in 1913 and is a work that eludes this listener. There are some sound themes in the work but it just seems to wander aimlessly and episodically and as a total work it fails to hold interest.

The sound on this recording is excellent: the recordings of 'Enigma' and 'Grania and Diarmid' were made in the (then) new Birmingham Symphony Hall (the recording was made in 1993) and are resonant and live. The 'Falstaff' was recorded in Butterworth Hall at the University of Warwick in 1992 and the sound is a bit more dry. But despite the few misgivings about sections of this CD, this is clearly a successful collaboration. For those in need of a definitive performance of the 'Enigma Variations', look no further. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, April 05

"