Search - Micaela Haslam, Roderick Elms :: Vaughan Williams: Heroic Elegy & Triumphal Epilogue; Alwyn: Overture in the Form of a Serenade, Blackdown- a Tone Poem from the Surrey Hills, Peter Pan Suite, Ad Infinitum; Bowen: Orchestral Poem ' Eventide' ; Parry: Hypatia-incidental music

Unknown Wonderfulness

J. MILLER | Los Angeles, CA USA | 02/22/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just when I thought I'd heard every piece of beautiful classical music, along comes William Alwyn's "Overture in the Form of a Serenade." The early Vaughan Williams "Elegy & Epilogue" is also splendid (with some cool organ), as are the Bowen and Parry numbers. Nice recording, too."

Such gorgeous music triumphantly played

Karim Elmahmoudi | San Francisco, CA USA | 03/21/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This disc offers some exceptionally beautiful and rare music. The early tone poem "Heroic Elegy & Triumphal Epilogue" by Ralph Vaughan Williams immediately sounds characteristic but clearly a work from his youth. It is immediately engaging and shows what a wonderful melodist he always was. The poignant main melody lingers in one's memory long after it is heard. York Bowen's "Eventide" is a gorgeous impressionistic idyll sounding like a cross between Debussy and English pastoralism. Gorgeous stuff! William Alwyn's music on the disc is all very engaging, and extremely well crafted standing as a bit of a bridge between Vaughan Williams and William Walton. It disc does make me want to investigate York Bowen and William Alywn further. Overall, the music on this disc is truly outstanding and never dull.



The only negative that bothers me is the sound quality. The music was recorded in a venue called "The coliseum" and based on the extensive reverb, the venue must be huge and I've heard this sound before from Dutton Epoch. Percussion sounds extremely distant, the organ prominently played in the Vaughan Williams is nearly nonexistent and the rest of the orchestra sounds like they were playing extremely well, however the lack of clarity in the recording obscures this. I wish some closer mics were used just to add some of the missing clarity. The recording sounds closer to a 1980's Chandos recording in its overuse of reverb and general lack of clarity. That works well for the more atmospheric works such as York Bowen's Eventide but is frustrating in the Vaughan Williams.



Overall, there is no alternative for this music and I do highly recommend this CD, I just wish it had been recorded with a bit more precision, however no one should pass this disc by on account to my technical complaint.



Music: 10/10

Performance: 10/10

Recording: 7/10

"

Unusual selections for a Vaughan Williams collector

C. Farnham | Hampden, ME | 04/17/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a gorgeous new release of some rare British orchestral pieces. Clear and precise, yet warmly recorded."