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Track Listings
| 1. Sir William Wallace - Symphonic Poem No 5: Lento |
| 2. Sir William Wallace - Symphonic Poem No 5: Misurato |
| 3. Sir William Wallace - Symphonic Poem No 5: Andante con moto |
| 4. Sir William Wallace - Symphonic Poem No 5: Vivace |
| 5. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Allegro con anima |
| 6. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Con brio 'Au moins sera de moy memoire' |
| 7. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Piu lento 'Ou s'en va tout?' |
| 8. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Ballade des Dames du Temps jadis |
| 9. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Ballade pour prier Notre Dame |
| 10. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Allegro |
| 11. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Allegretto 'Il n'est bon bec que de Paris' |
| 12. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Largo 'Je plaings le temps de ma jeunesse' |
| 13. The Passing of Beatrice - Symphonic Poem No 1 |
| 14. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Largo sostenuto |
| 15. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Vivace |
| 16. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Andante |
| 17. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Con fuoco |
| 18. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Meno allegro |
Product Description
Review
GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE / CRITICS' CHOICE 'Hyperion have once again triumphed in rescuing some inexplicably neglected Scottish music ... it is simply unbelievable that the symphonic poems presented here have had to wait till now to be recorded ... Once again Martyn Brabbins procures superbly assured and crafted performances from the BBCSO, and the recorded sound too is of the highest quality' --Gramophone
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive symphonic poems, excellent performances,
By
This review is from: Wallace - Symphonic Poems (Audio CD)
Around the same time Hyperion was recording music by the Scottish composer Alexander Mackenzie, it also set down two discs devoted to the music of his contemporary and fellow countryman, William Wallace. Wallace's music, however, is a world away from that of Mackenzie - indeed, Wallace was unusual among late nineteenth century British composers generally in his wholehearted adoption of Lisztian and Wagnerian procedures. If he wasn't quite the first British composer to write a symphonic poem, he was certainly one of the earliest practitioners of the genre. Four of the six he wrote are included in this collection, each based on the life of a well-known historical figure or literary character.
As with the best of Granville Bantock's work, a composer with whom some stylistic affinities might be found here, it is baffling that such fine music can have mouldered in archives for so long without being heard. I'm not sure that Wallace is quite Bantock's equal in terms of melody - some of the primary material here is a little recherché, one might say if one is feeling generous - but when it comes to atmosphere and orchestration I did wonder whether Wallace might have had the edge and his use of his instrumental palette seems more pointed than Bantock's in evoking the mood of his subject matter. All four works are gorgeously, indeed opulently scored whether it be the nobly serene Lohengrin-inspired music of 'The Passing of Beatrice' or the more sinister and dramatic effects of 'Sister Helen', for example. As a listener you could be content merely to wallow in these marvellous instrumental washes of sound but to do so, I think, would be to do Wallace an injustice as he is also a master of thematic transformation; all four works are ingeniously structured, 'Villon' perhaps being the most impressive in the way Wallace binds its mercurial changes of mood and variety of incident together - the closing section I found some of the most touching music on the CD. Martyn Brabbins directs the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in disciplined but full-blooded performances that make the best case for Wallace's diverse inspirations in these works and, happily, Hyperion provides splendid sound quality that allows the composer's flair for the orchestra to really shine forth. Some of these symphonic poems are quite detailed as far as the relationship between music and programme is concerned and the booklet essay is admirably informative, which allows the listener to follow the events being depicted if they choose. All in all, this is a very impressive issue - no resurrected masterpieces, to be sure, but certain to bring a good deal of pleasure to anyone who enjoys evocative and lushly scored Late Romantic music. Warmly recommended.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fine if not particularly distinguished music in excellent performances,
By G.D. - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Wallace - Symphonic Poems (Audio CD)
William Wallace (1860-1940) was a Scottish composer and writer on music, a professor of Harmony at the Royal Academy of Music, a classical scholar and Hebrew scholar, a medical doctor (eye surgeon), poet and painter. Maybe he spread his net too wide, for his compositions have more or less sunk without a trace - in that respect the Hyperion revival, consisting of this and a companion disc devoted to his Creation Symphony, is very welcome. Is the music worth it? I'd go for a "yes", although there are no hidden masterpieces here, nor even an individual voice - yet there is much to savor nonetheless in his very late romantic, Wagnerian (and Lisztian) music. I don't recommend expecting another Bantock, but historically Wallace and Bantock belonged to the same generation of composers who sook to break away with the conservativism of their time, looking instead to the opulent and dramatic post-Wagnerian late romanticism that was developing in e.g. Germany.
Wallace wrote six symphonic poems, four of which are given here. They are consistently extravagant with stirringly dramatic passages and full of color. On the flip-side, there is rarely any really memorable themes, and the works are generally longer than their somewhat episodic structures can really sustain. Nevertheless there is much good music here. The topic of the Scottish rebel hero William Wallace (of Braveheart fame, I suppose) was an obvious topic for a symphonic poem, I guess, given that he shared name and nationality with the composer. It is appropriately dramatic in the battle scenes and wistful in its depiction of Scotland, although not particularly memorable overall. The Passing of Beatrice is of course based on Dante and depicts the transition from Purgatory to Paradise; the music is reverential and opulent, redolent at times of Parsifal - Wallace was good at calm radiance, but here it goes on for longer than ideal. Sister Helene is a melodramatic work of frustrated love, murder and sorcery. It is apparently conceived of as a portrait of Helen, and is thus interestingly many-layered and ambiguous with warmth as well as fiercely desperate insanity. Most rewarding, however, is Wallace's last symphonic poem, Villon. A mischievous, clever piece, it is (as one might suspect) a not-too-distant cousin of Elgar's Falstaff and Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel - not perhaps quite on the same level of inspiration, but a very attractive work nonetheless. Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony play with all the flair, spirit, color and opulence the music needs, and while this might not perhaps be an essential release, it is still a very attractive one, and one that can be safely recommended to lovers of late romantic, lush orchestral works. 5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty Scottish Orchestral Music,
By B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Wallace - Symphonic Poems (Audio CD)
I was pleased with myself when I heard this recording and thought highly of it, only to see the English magazine, 'Grammaphone' highlight it as a featured album of the month when it came out about 12 years ago. Needless to say, this William Wallace is NOT the same Wallace featured in the movie 'Braveheart', but a Scottish composer of 400 years later. All the works are very pretty, and prettily performed, with the expected influence from Wagner, and none from any more modern composer. Amazon's list price is a bit steep, as it originally listed for around $17, typical of a Hyperion release.
Great if you are fond of early 20th century UK music. |
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