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The Exoticism and Splendor of Sir Granville Bantock

Thomas F. Bertonneau | Oswego, NY United States | 10/02/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This compilation of historical recordings of music by Sir Granville Bantock (1868-1946) transcends the category of archival curiosa and demands attention from anyone who has been following the revelation on compact disc of lesser known twentieth century music that deserves rediscovery and reassessment. Listeners unacquainted with Bantock's work should review the performances of his Hebridean and Pagan Symphonies, his Helena Variations, and his Sappho Songs on the enterprizing Hyperion label. In sum: Bantock derives his harmonic vocabulary and orchestral elan from Wagner and Strauss, but mines an un-Germanic vein. His music, just as drammatic as anything from the composer of Also Sprach Zarathustra or Ein Heldenleben, cultivates a variety of atmospheres, from the sunny Arcadian clime of Greek myth to the cloudy skies of the Scottish Isles. He is slightly more backward-looking than Bax but infinitely more exotic than Elgar. Along comes the new disc from Dutton Laboratories. It publishes material from the BBC archives of performances in the late 1920s and the 1930s and adds items taken from commerical 78rpm sources, often with Bantock himself conducting, from the British Paxton label of the 1940s. The chief work in the anthology is "The Shulamite's Song," Part II of Bantock's cantata on "The Song of Songs." This is vocal-orchestral exoticism of a high-flown sort. Bantock always charges his writing with abundant vitality and joy. It might be "corny" now and then, but it is so masterful in its unrepentantly romantic demonstrativeness that only a snob could really dislike it. The 1936 air-check provides a good basis for Dutton's remastering. Equally brilliant (minus the human voice) is the brief "Glory of the Sun" overture, under Walter Collins, from two years after Bantock's death. The "Macbeth" overture shows the composer in his Nordic mood, lowering and dramatic. The CD concludes with Bantock himself talking about Jean Sibelius. Many avid music-lovers shy from "historical" releases. This is a shame, since (a) older recordings are by no means always as "primitive" as casual opinion thinks them, and (b) digital remastering can discover hidden lustres in old pressings and bring them out as never before. Anyone one who has fallen in love with the modern performances of Bantock's oeuvre on Hyperion should snap up this Dutton CD immediately. Should anyone else consider diminishing his account to purchase this offering? Clearly its primary audience will be made up of Bantockians, but its intrinsic musical value is so enormous that I would say that it could be listened to with pleasure by anyone open-minded enough to find delectation in a novel venue. The booklet is beautiful and its character matches that of the music. The notes are full and explanatory. Superb production all around. The small print, incidentally, describes this as "volume I" of a Bantock series."