Moeran - Symphony in G minor [CD]

At last, this great reading of Moeran's truly wonderful symphony is available on CD. Boult's reading must be pretty nigh on definitive; superb sound, horn-led, perfect in every respect. Handley's Chandos reading is very fine indeed, and in some respects surpasses even Boult (the emphasis on timpani is telling) but this is a classic of the gramophone, and I - and many other lovers of English music - will be glad to have it restored to the catalogue. The Sinfonietta and overture are equally fine, but the symphony is the main event. Buy it; no, buy two copies in case you lose one...

I'm in agreement with P S C Ebrey here. I have waited for this to appear for decades. Boult's performance of Moeran's magnificent symphony pushes all the other competition into the shade. In my view the only serious challenger is the legendary war-time Heward recording (although I have a soft-spot for the Neville Dilkes EMI version that was my introduction to this work during the LP days).

I have always felt that the last movement was rather episodic but Boult's recording triumphantly refutes my earlier view. The Tapiola-like storm episode is more threatening than in any rival version. This truly is one of the great British symphonies, worthy to stand alongside the much better known Walton Symphony 1, Vaughan Williams Symphony 4 and 6 and Bax symphonies 3,5 and 6. Let us hope that this work is performed live at the proms one day. Another, even lesser known magnificent symphony is Arnell's Symphony 3 (Dutton CD).

This is one of the great symphonies of the 20th Century and it is scandalous that it is not better known. The reason is probably that it was written at the very end of the Romantic era (1937-8) just before music like this went seriously out of fashion. Other casualties of the modernist, serialist, dissonant post 1950 era include the symphonies of Arnold Bax, most of Elgar except perhaps "Enigma" and the Cello Concerto (the symphonies and other works are merdifully now recovered in the concert hall) and the late works of Vaughan Williams. This music stands with the greatest of Elgar and VW and may be a better work than anything Bax ever wrote. Another reason for Moeran's neglect is that he did not write a particularly large amount of music for symphony orchestra so that he did not build a big reputation for this in his own lifetime.

Each one of the four movements of the work shows superb compositional skill. For example, the driving 4/4 dotted rhythm of the opening subject of movement 1 is offset by a wonderfully moving and lyrical second subject full of the wistfulness of the greatest British folk song which, whilst it is derivative of the idiom, is entirely Moeran's own. These two themes are then given an extremely rigorous treatment in the development before the movement begins to dies away quietly only to surge out again in a defiantly resolute burst of sound. The slow movement renews the sense of wistful longing and is built up of several themes which receive wonderfuly varied treatment - throughout the whole symphony the orchestration is magnificently imaginative - and this is hauntingly beautiful music. The airy scherzo combines lyricism with fascinating rhythmical diversity. Finally, the long and ultimately tragic last movement, with a storm section to rival Sibelius' "Tapiola" (which undoubtedly influenced it, but no bad thing either!) ends, also in the manner of Sibelius' Fifth Symphony, with a sudden series of fortissimo chords.

Emotive response to music like this is always very personal. For me the symphony revels in beauty and energy remembered but ultimately lost - a deeply human and humane experience. But please try to hear it yourself if you don't know the work so that you can be intrigued by the enigmas at the heart of this glorious music.

And this recording is the one to own! The rather cheaper Naxos disc has good playing and driving energy but rather misses the special atmosphere of gentle longing that Moeran creates. It is worth buying if you are exploring and you will not be dissatisfied with it. But there is a whole new dimension to the work in Boult's hands that not even Leslie Heward's pioneering 1943 recording (Dutton) quite matches (this recording is a marvel of recovered sound and is a remarkable historical document, well worth hearing). Vernon Handley's Chandos recording with the Ulster Orchstra is also fine and richly recorded and, were it not for the existence of this very special Boult recording, would be more than adequate: but the great is the enemy of the very good.

Just what makes Boult's interpretation so great is hard to explain. It seems to have been one of those special moments in recorded music history where everything comes together in a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Firstly, Boult's tempi sound exactly right and he achieves a sustained flow and "line" through the most taxing changes of tempo and mood. Secondly, the Philharmonia (in its brief "New Philharmonia" period) are at the height of their powers, supple, responsive and with individual players delivering their featured parts with virtuosic skill (the Leader is superb in his solo moments and the oboe in the Scherzo has a lovely fresh tone). Finally, the Lyrita recording is a marvel. There is just the right amount of naturalness in the sound, the "air" around the music, that reproduces the experience of a fine concert hall (and I wish that Lyrita has credited the recording venue as I looked in vain for it on the booklet). In short, the recording sounds like a live performance, perfectly performed by inspired musicians and taken on the wing.

The other music on this disc is also finely performed but the reason for buying it is to hear one of the greatest performances by Adrian Boult of a sadly neglected masterpiece: the G minor Symphony. Please don't hesitate. Buy this now!