Sir Adrian Boult, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra (Symphonies 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9)
New Philharmonia Orchestra (Symphonies 3,4, 6)
London Philharmonic Choir
Sheila Armstrong, soprano John Carol Case, baritone
Margaret Price, soprano Norma Burrowes, soprano
In the late 1960s, Sir Adrian Boult returned to Kingsway Hall (Nos 1, 2,3,7,8, & 9) Abbey Road Studio 1 (Nos 4 & 6) and Wembley Town Hall (No 5) to record the Vaughan Willaims symphonies for EMI with the London Philharmonic and the New Philharmonia Orchestra. This was to be all in stereo, as contrasted to his first cycle, for Decca and Everest, which was nearly all in mono.
You'd think this would be better in just about every way, technically, but it opens a bit roughly. A Sea Symphony (No 1) lacks the youthful exuberance of Boult's Decca version. At times the choir sags in pitch, most disappointingly at some early climactic points. John Carol Case's singing has always struck me as too stylized and saccharine, and does here. There are so many great baritones who have given their voices to this, and while his volume is there, there isn't enough depth of feeling or strength. He sings very prettily, but I just don't believe he's "on the beach at night alone" when he sings it.
A London Symphony (No 2) is the real disappointment of the set. The intonation of the London Phil is just plain bad at times. The flat clarinet solo in the second movement is cringeworthy. Sometimes it seems the orchestra is rushing to catch Sir Adrian's beat; other times they fall back fearing they were ahead. It's nervous, uncomfortable playing in spots where it should exude beauty. This one is a real shame, as the sound quality for the Decca release was probably the worst of that cycle and we don't get a great London from Boult here either.
But just when we might think all is lost, we get a Pastoral Symphony (No 3) for the ages. This is a beautiful recording of the New Philharmonia Orchestra - maybe my favorite ever made of this important work. Nowhere else does Boult sound more as though the music is being spontaneously created, shimmering into a unified whole. Margaret Price's wordless soprano in the fourth movement has the proper tension and poignancy.
From that point on, this cycle really improves. The Symphony in F minor (No 4) is even better than his Decca recording. Once again with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, we get a really beautifully recorded and realized version. It's not as polished or virtuosic as later recordings by Handley, Slatkin, or Haitink, but it's a great ride - aggressive, monumental, confident and swaggering.
The London Philharmonic is back for the Symphony in D major (No 5), the only of this set recorded at Wembley Town Hall. It's not without problems - there remain some frustrating errors of execution - the clarinets are late on their first entrance of movement 1, for example, and once again the ensemble has intonation issues. It's hard to believe this was the same orchestra that only a year or so later recorded The Pilgrim's Progress with such near perfection. The interpretation of the piece is great here, but the execution once again falls short in many places.
By contrast, Symphony No 6 in E minor - with the New Philharmonia - is brilliant. His first with Decca was too, but the added stereo sound makes this one a winner.
Maybe the biggest shocker of the set? Sinfonia Antartica (No 7) recorded with the London Philharmonic in Kingsway Hall. The very opening might not be as breathtaking as Boult's mono recording - there seems to be a balance problem at the beginning climaxes of the prelude - too much of the inner voices of the trombones, not enough strings. But it's still a brilliant, heroic interpretation - maybe the finest I've ever heard. As mentioned in my review of Haitink's cycle the Sinfonia can be read as a pessimistic, anti-Sea Symphony. Haitink brings out all of those qualities in a very effective performance. Boult does not, however, and I believe this recording is proof he understood the Sinfonia Antartica as well as anyone ever has. In his hands, the piece is heroic.
There are many decisions to make when performing this massive work, and one of the most important is who is asked to sing the wordless soprano part. Should it sound creepy? Otherwordly? Most recordings go in that direction. But here we have Sir Adrian's Secret Weapon of Awesomeness: Norma Burrowes. Her floating voice does sound a bit otherworldy, but never creepy - it's more of a siren's song crossed with the keening of widows (such as she also recorded in Vaughan Williams's opera, Riders to the Sea). The rest of the piece is delivered with beauty, majesty, drama, making it not so much pessimistic but a memento mori symphony. I think all conductors should study this recording.
Symphony No 8 in D minor is on the whole better than his first version for Decca (which was also in stereo) but it just doesn't seem to be a work he captured well in recording. The finale is downright uninspired. I've actually seen a live performance on YouTube of Boult conducting this symphony is more vigorous. Having said that, the Symphony No 9 presented here might be even better than the world premiere recording, so meaningfully captured on Everest. It seems that in the years between, Sir Adrian came to conclusions about texture and mood that make this a very satisfying reading of an emotionally challenging and complex work. My favorite still remains Haitink's, but this interpretation is very good too.
In conclusion, there are major highs and lows for this set. The stereo sound is, on the whole, superior to the mostly mono of the Decca/Everest cycle, and some of the interpretations are the best ever by Boult - especially the Pastoral, F minor, and Sinfonia Antartica. 6 and 9 are also excellent, so the cycle is very good. But if I had to choose between this and Boult's first RVW cycle, it would be Decca: first, because the composer was there at the recording sessions for symphonies 1-8 and second, overall there just aren't the same ups and downs of quality in performance.
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