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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SPLENDID!, 14 Dec 2003
I have to confess that for many years I was not a big fan of Bax's music, but through my own ignorance, I fear. I was first exposed to his music through an ancient LP of piano music. I felt that both the music and the performance were utterly undistinguished. So I struck Bax off my list of composers to get to know. That turned out, of course, to be my loss. But on the positive side it has meant that he has been a later discovery, and for someone like I who for fifty years and more was always looking for new music to discover that has been a belated blessing. I've treasured the earlier issues of Bax orchestral music on Naxos, and my guess would be that this is the last of the series. Or at least it's the last of the symphonies to be recorded by them. Coupled with the Seventh Symphony, though, is Bax's most famous orchestral piece, 'Tintagel.' It is a symphonic poem that was inspired by a six-week sojourn in the area of Tintagel, on the northern Cornish coast. Tintagel sits on a high cliff overlooking the distant Atlantic, and the tone poem is really more about the sea than about the castle or the landscape. Indeed, it is Bax's 'La Mer.' David Lloyd Jones leads the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in a rich full-throated performance of this alternately romantically lyrical and tempestuous piece. It certainly stands among the best versions I've ever heard. Bax's final essay in symphonic form, the Seventh Symphony, in three movements like all Bax's symphonies, was premièred in 1939 by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra (as it was then called) under the direction of the Bax enthusiast Sir Adrian Boult. The opening Allegro is a buoyant, even playful, piece interrupted by a lyrically melancholy section; one wonders if this latter is in any way inspired by the war clouds then massing in Europe. The slow movement begins with a slow, lazy, richly harmonized opening featuring languorous oboe/English horn solos and eventually supplanted by a somewhat more vigorous middle section subtitled 'In a Legendary Mood.' There is a vigorous climax before the music settles back into the opening dreamlike mood. The final movement is a theme-and-variations based on a solemn theme stated, after a stirring fanfare introduction, in the low strings and then taken through changing moods and tempi, becoming more and more agitated (but with some lyrical episodes and even some comic relief along the way) before a subdued, one might even say resigned, conclusion. After the Seventh Symphony (and the start in earnest of World War II) Bax lapsed into a several years' silence before being named Master of the King's Music. He never composed anything very significant afterwards. These performances are fully the equal of the earlier releases in this Naxos series. You really cannot do better than that. Scott Morrison
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good and sometimes brilliant performance, 25 Feb 2004
After the brilliant recording of symphony No 6 I was expecting great things of this disc. On first listening I was dissappointed, as the lush sound of the previous recording had been abandoned and the playing did not sound quite as urgent as it should be. Reviewers for some publications seemed to feel the same. However, having come back to the recording after a couple of months I find it to be far stronger than I originally thought it to be.
The disc begins with Tintagel. This is the most well known and most performed work by Bax, which is both a blessing and a curse for any new interpreter. There is a high standard to live up to. David Lloyd Jones and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra do not fall short, embracing the ebb and flow of this no holds barred orchestral seascape. Whatever reservations there may be that the orchestra is holding back a little early on in the work are dispelled as the piece slowly but inexorably builds towards its climatic ending. The listener soon has the sensation of being there on the clifftop with Bax, face wettened by the rising spray.
The Symphony is well handled with its contrasts well picked out. There is ceremonial music here, and nature music. Bax is obviously conscious that he is bringing his symphonic cycle to an end and there is a resolution of all his enthusiasms, of sorts. If it was a complete resolution this wouldn't Bax. It is interesting to here a definate swing to the music at the end of the First music. Indeed, for a couple of minutes it's something of a case of Gershwin meets Sibelius. An American in Oslo perhaps?
So, on giving this CD a second chance I am in no way dissappointed. It isn't the strongest recording of the cycle (I'd have to pick one of Symphonies 1, 3 or 6 for that accolade), but neither does it fall short, it is of a good standard throughout with moments of brilliance - generally in the climaxes.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good performance, good value, 18 April 2004
This is the most relaxed of the symphonies. As usual, the first movement does not conform to the classical definition of sonata form but so what? Let critics earn their bread - it keeps them off the dole queue. The first movement is a seascape of sorts that shows off Bax' mastery of orchestral technique at its best. Basically a fast movement with moments of repose so typical of Bax, motifs are developed into nice sweeping lines after a fairly long intro. The second movement is tone-poem-like and the last looks toward the ceremonial style Bax was to adopt later when he composed for State occasions. It sets out almost as a march followed by passacaglia-styled variations and tailing off with a long epilogue that seems almost full of sighs. Too sentimental to claim that Bax was saying goodbye - he was to symphonic form but went on to write much music before his death in 1953.
The work was first performed in the New York World Fair of 1939. Compared with other recordings, Lloyd-Jones acquits himself well enough. His effort is certainly less turgid than Bryden Thompson's. However, I find Raymond Leppard with the LPO (Lyrita SRCD232, still available) brings out a greater richness in the overall texture but with more translucent moments of calm, particularly movements 1 & 2. It can hardly be missed. He also seems to bring out the joie de vivre in the lively parts of the first movement. I find it hard to decide which I like best. I'd suggest the Lloyd-Jones for the newcomer but if wanting to progress to a more atmospheric performance then the Leppard. I have yet to hear Vernon Handley's version (I hold Vernon Handley in the highest regard after his recordings of Stanford's symphonies) and if one can afford the boxed set, that would be an ideal way to acquire Bax' symphonic cycle. It has certainly received good reviews and one can't go wrong with Handley/Bax. For those who consider Bax' symphonic cycle as an entity in itself, however, the Sonatas should be brought into it - that's where Bax' "symphonic style" started. Critics would do well to note that when they complain about Bax not conforming to Sonata form! Tintagel: Recordings abound and Lloyd-Jones makes as good a go of this tone poem as any. Good value, then. Not the best introduction to the Bax symphonies but then...what is? The Vernon Handley box (Chandos), possibly.
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