CD Review: Two Versions of Vaughan Williams's The Pilgrim's Progress * Boult 1972 * Hickox 1998

The Pilgrim's Progress is Vaughan Williams's magnum opus, and arguably his most important work. Though never very successful in the opera house, it contains much of his most beautiful music, and serves as a symbolic summation of his career up until 1951, when it premiered. (From 1952 through 1958, RVW had a final creative surge that produced his last three symphonies, and which should be symbolically analyzed in their own right, but the Pilgrim serves as the major work for all that came before.)

Of all his works, this final opera has languished most, but we are fortunate to possess two world class recordings: the premiere recording released during the RVW Centennial Year of 1972 by Sir Adrian Boult with the London Philharmonic and John Noble singing Pilgrim; and Richard Hickox's with the Royal Opera House from 1998, with Gerald Finley in the lead. 

This review will discuss these recordings; interested readers can delve into the symbolism and meaning of this neglected masterpiece with my study of the piece here.  Without further ado, let's dive in to the recordings...

World Premiere LP Release: Sir Adrian Boult

Ralph Vaughan Williams * The Pilgrim's Progress

London Philharmonic Choir * London Philharmonic Orchestra

Sir Adrian Boult, conductor

John Noble, Pilgrim

EMI, 1972

Boult delivered one of the performances of his life with this. Recorded in Kingsway Hall, the London Phil never sounded better - it's one of the best recorded operas I've heard. Kudos to the balance engineer Christopher Parker and the producer Christopher Bishop. I've rarely experienced a Wagner opera close to the soundscape this orchestra and recording crew produced and captured. Torrents of sound, mountainous when needed - or the subtlest pastoral moments - they are all here on this magnificent EMI release. 

John Noble sings an inspired Pilgrim. He was already associated with the role, having the lead for the 1954 Cambridge student production, which in many ways saved the opera from total obscurity after its disastrous debut three years earlier at Covent Gardern. Noble's voice lives up to his name; he interprets with conviction and strength. It's his interpretation that will certainly serve as the template for all others. The chorus, which plays such a prominent and dramatic part in this opera, is massive and clear - the Arming of the Pilgrim, the Vanity Fair mob, and the Pilgrim's final arrival into Heaven are some of the greatest choral work I've heard. The finale in particular is like nothing else. The lift Sir Adrian gets, the crashing symbols, the surging of the orchestra, and the choir over the top in the best of ways, is nothing short of magnificent - a top ten moment in recorded history for me. Also, for me personally, it might have been life altering (I changed my masters thesis topic after hearing this recording! Went from writing on Charles Ives to Vaughan Williams!)

The London Philharmonic plays with the care and intensity of a symphony performance - in fact, their playing here is superior to many of their performances of RVW's symphonies. The whole cast of singers (and there are loads of them for this opera) seem perfectly chosen - from Raimund Herincx's solemn and rich Bunyan, to Robert Lloyd's terrifying Apollyon, to the humor of Gerald English and Gloria Jennings as Mister and Madam By-Ends, you just can't beat any of the singers in these roles. John Shirley-Quirk's Nocturn as Watchful (the porter) is one of the greatest moments in any Vaughan Williams recording, for my money. 

The instrumental soloists in the London Phil are likewise just about perfect in every way, from the french horn and trumpet fanfares, to the english horn moments, the pastoral beauty of the clarinet, the viola and violin solos in the Delectable Mountains, and the skeptical bassoon in the By-Ends episode, you really couldn't ask for more. 

To make this set even more attractive, about a half hours worth of rehearsal coverage is included - we get to hear Sir Adrian putting the whole thing together. 

Any lover of RVW's music, or opera in general, should have a copy of this.  

The Hickox CD release on Chandos, 1998

Ralph Vaughan Williams * The Pilgrim's Progress

The Royal Opera House Chorus * The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Richard Hickox, conductor * Gerald Finley, Pilgrim

Chandos, 1998

A masterpiece like the Pilgrim should never be relegated to one recording - we're doubly fortunate that Richard Hickox gave us another in the late 1990s. It's almost unfair to compare the two. Boult's is probably unsurpassable - the inspiration, location (Kingsway Hall, which no longer exists), and performers are unrepeatable. 

The first thing one notices about this Chandos release is that we feel like we're hearing an opera in this recording - not a massive fantasy soundscape that engulfs the consciousness, but singers acting on a stage with a pit orchestra below them. There is nothing wrong with this experience - it is, after all, what an opera is. This recording delivers that, and is therefore a different angle on the piece. Everything, and I mean everything, is well played and well sung. As with Boult's cast, there are no weak links. In fact, if you study the score carefully, you'll find that the singers on this Chandos release (particularly Gerald Finley as Pilgrim and Peter Coleman-Wright, who sings Bunyan) are more meticulous about delineating the actual pitches than their earlier counterparts. Hickox also takes orchestral repeats for scene change music left out by the earlier Boult recording. Both approaches work (the repeats are optional), but it's great to hear them. 

Another nice facet of this - instead of a trouser role (as in the earlier EMI release), Hickox cast Mica Penniman as the Woodcutter's Boy. It makes a surprisingly big difference to the whole texture and freshness of his scene. 

The chorus is solid and excellent - what is lacking here isn't anything technical, but the "lift" and inspired performance achieved by Boult & Co. 

My one real frustration with this recording was the choice of megaphones for Apollyon. The EMI release gives us a booming, menacing amplifier for Robert Lloyd - imminent death seems probable as this Angel of Death chants his threats. By contrast, for the Chandos recording, a whiney little megaphone was used. It sounds like Gidon Saks is a constable threatening innocent pedestrians. If I could change one thing from this performance, it would be the choice of megaphones.  

Having said that, the star of the show is Gerald Findley. His Pilgrim is absolutely riveting and his voice rich, powerful, expressive. If you love this piece, you need this recording for Gerald Finley's performance. 

   

Remastered Boult EMI set released on CD in the '90s

So there you have it, folks. A rundown of two great performances. If you love the piece, you'll want them both. If you can only get one, choose Boult. It might be the finest Vaughan Williams recording ever made.