Will we remember the late '80s and early '90s as the Golden Age of Vaughan Williams recordings? It's possible. At the time no less than five conductors and orchestras were recording the cycle. EMI was simultaneously recording Vernon Handley with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Bernard Haitink with the London Philharmonic. Andrew Davis was recording for Teldec with the BBC Symphony, Leonard Slatkin with the Philharmonia for RCA.
Chandos joined the fray with Bryden Thomson conducting the London Symphony Orchestra - a cycle completed very quickly between 1987 and 1990, and now reissued by the Musical Heritage Society (which is my pictured set). And what a splash they made in the game! Some swear by this as the definitive RVW cycle, and listening to A Sea Symphony (No 1) it's difficult to disagree. The LSO is phenomenal, the soloists Yvonne Kenny (soprano) and Brian Rayner Cook (baritone) are excellent. The LSO choir delivers like few others - handling the huge climaxes with apocalyptic intensity, but the gentler moments with the intimacy of a cantata or serenade.
This set was recorded in St Jude's Church, Central Square, London. It might be the only RVW cycle to be recorded in a church, and the acoustics are clearly different than any of those previously recorded (so often in Kingsway Hall or No 1 Studio of Abbey Road). I was skeptical at first - many church recordings are too tubby and unwieldy (von Karajan's Schumann cycle with Berlin in the early 1970s comes to mind. A lot of great music making happened at those sessions, but the textures seem difficult to discern). St Jude's seems to have been an ideal place, though - making this a unique cycle for the floating and massive sound Thomson and the LSO achieve.
All the RVW cycles from this era are top notch - the orchestras are technically brilliant, in tune, and the conductors shape the music well. So it comes down to a matter of personal preference.
When I first started reviewing Vaughan Williams cycles, I had no idea that the symphony most likely to be disappointing would be A London Symphony (No 2). But that's definitely been the case. Neither recording by Boult is very satisfying, Previn's stand alone version with the Royal Philharmonic is better than his LSO cycle, and Haitink's too uniquely still and ruminative to be considered a first recommendation ("standard") reading. Thankfully, Bryden Thomson and the London Symphony really deliver here, shaping a majestic reading, filled with knowledge of the performance traditions of the piece. The scherzo is a bit slower than most, perhaps owing to the recording venue (we'll see how the acoustics effect the tempi as the cycle goes along) and lacks a little jauntiness as a result. The fourth movement epilogue is wonderful though. A stately march, the orchestra filling the space richly, and an ending that touches the mystical vein all RVW's symphonies must eventually reach.
The microphone placement sounds different for the Pastoral Symphony (No 3). In particular, the woodwind section sounds much closer. This piece really needs to focus on the winds, so this makes sense - and no other details are lost. In fact, some of the string gestures are captured here better than on any other recording. Thomson highlights more of the undulating effects, and doesn't just drive right over them - the Chandos sound here is amazing for detail and space. The first movement is unique in that Thomson doesn't highlight the violin lines to anywhere near the degree other conductors do - we hear everything going on beneath the surface. This is well worth listening to - and for conductors to consider. So much interesting music happens here, too often obscured.
The second movement follows suit, with beautiful horn, oboe, and clarinet work. Once again giving lighter emphasis on the violins, the musical landscape becomes more visible. This is very detailed music, but takes the cultivation of multiple lines weaving in and out, commenting on each other. Overbearing violins can cover that up - here, they provide a beautiful sheen. Nothing is lost in the importance of their lines, but everything else is gained: this is true ensemble playing. The natural trumpet solo, which is the symbolic centerpiece of the movement, is played with nobility and an aching final note, just flat of tempered pitch (as the composer wanted). It is great to hear the flute lines after this movement, handed off to the bassoons, in ways we rarely do. The natural horn solo follows the same contour as the trumpet, with those subdued violins getting the last, hushed word.
The third movement is treated more crisply. This is the least ham-fisted of Pastorals I've heard to this point. Thomson has the tympani playing a commenting role at times, rather than always "supporting" and it really is illuminating. The interplay of harp, flute, bass section near the end of the movement is really unprecedented. Once again this is great ensemble playing. The diversity of sounds and ideas are more apparent. The final coda is more organic and formally satisfying here than elsewhere - each of the choices Thomson made about texture especially, but also articulation and tempi, are justified by this final result.
Yvonne Kenney returns for the wordless soprano on the fourth movement, and is persistent yet light - a melodious strength. Thomson's Lento fourth movement hints towards the dance and has a lighter, ever so slightly quicker step than others. He maintains his commitment to the orchestra beneath the violins, and gains extraordinary results. I've always said Boult's EMI recording has been my standard, but this might be my new favorite. There is no doubt we simply hear more of the score with Thomson and the LSO. At the big "crying out" unison moment of the finale, the LSO get an almost vocal quality, like the best of Russian string sections in Tchaikovsky 6. Kenny finishes the piece sounding like a young woman walking a country road, singing to herself, innocently, of grief she might not yet even realize is coming. A fitting memorial, as Vaughan Williams intended it, to all who endured the Great War.
Symphony in F minor (No 4): By this point, I'm starting to understand what I really love most about this cycle - the LSO plays with a relaxed confidence and a willingness to just let it rip - almost like the great American orchestras of the mid to late 20th century (NYP under Bernstein, Chicago under Solti, etc). This piece opens with that lyrical, monumental quality also heard in Boult and Previn, but it gets violent soon enough! The second movement opens with a real snarl and is played dramatically. Thomson highlights the melody over the contrapuntal interest - he's one of the few conductors to take this approach, and it's convincing. The horns in the scherzo are brilliantly, thrillingly savage. The rhythmic emphasis and intensity of the brass in this movement are awesome! And what an arrival for the fourth movement! No sense of pulling back - a perfect tempo. You have to give this one a listen. There is a difference between passionate risk taking and ragged playing - Bernstein and Solti achieved great results through this sort of risk taking - you don't quibble about details when they gave a great performance. This recording of the 4th is like that. I'm not saying it's ragged - it isn't - but it lives on the edge like few other recordings of the F minor.
I won't go into detail about the Symphony in D major (No 5) except to say I rank it with Handley and Haitink as one of the finest renditions of the piece. What it has going for it, differently than those two, is Thomson's whole approach with the LSO - which comes off as confident, relaxed, and really allowing the musicians to play. I have no idea if that's what the session felt like to the musicians, but it sure comes off that way. This seems like fresh music that the ensemble believes in and is free just to sing.
Everything I mention in the earlier symphonies is present in the Symphony No 6 in E minor too. Great ensemble playing, risk taking that always pays off, direction that frees the players rather than harnessing them: bold and brassy in a way conductors usually don't perform Vaughan Williams. In fact, the big brass moments sound more like Holst than Brahms, as they should. I could repeat the sort of writing from above, and analyze the score in depth, but why? It's maybe the greatest recording of the piece. It's the only recording of the 6th I can remember where the final notes sound consoling, enduring, and even quietly heroic.
This Sinfonia Antartica is probably the finest recorded - at least of the many versions I've heard. My one reservation is the scherzo, which I found too slow (as with Handley's), but there can be no denying the detail and sounds captured in Thomson's reading. As with the earlier Pastoral Symphony, we simply hear more of the actual music. Piano parts buried in other recordings, all of the very chilling sound affects that make this an aural world like no other, and became a treasure trove for great film composers to come - this sounds like no piece you've ever heard, even if you've heard both Boult versions, Previn, Slatkin, Haitink, Bakels, Barbirolli, Handley - none of them capture what Thomson does with the LSO. Even the wind machine sounds more like wind, less like a sheet being spun. The organ of St Jude's is warmer and therefore less imposing than other versions, but who cares? If you want to hear the actual piece, in all it's glory, you have to have this record.
Just listen to Symphony No 8 in D minor. Thomson's is one of the best, at least in the first two movements, for all the reasons listed above regarding the other symphonies. The third movement gets a little pitchy, and the fourth a little savage, but what the heck? The ending delivers with the appropriate cacophony.
Symphony No 9 in E minor rounds out this remarkable cycle with majesty and power. The ending is more cataclysmic than others - more sudden and shocking. A worthy ending to a most shockingly great set.
Bottom line: Until this past week, I'd never listened to this RVW cycle. Now, it might be my all time favorite. Whatever the future holds, it will be in the rotation regularly. I don't believe you can do better for a single set. Highly recommended.
