Customer Reviews

Parry & Stanford: Nonets

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Recorded in 1987, this beautiful record was first released as a current Hyperion but eventually reappeared on the Helios series. What a marvelous set of works it is, and how accurate and well rehearsed are the players of the Capricorn ensemble! I did not really enjoy the program on first hearing, but since then every new listening brings much pleasure and reveals a little extra on its own---making one forget the wrong side of life. Sir Hubert Parry's 'Nonet' (i can't escape the fact that it's a word i really don't like) is a relevant example of his 'early' musical works and as expressed here it confirms how keen and refreshing a composer he was. The sound is quite splendid by any standard, and if anything the natural timbre of instruments is as close to reality as it is possible on a recording (a quality generally recognized for most of the titles on Hyperion). The work by Sir Charles Stanford, suitably entitled 'Serenade', is of a high class as well ; one should not forget to mention the almost contemporary character and timeless 'peculiarity' of both works, as well as the tonal beauty and modern romanticism that make them fall squarely in the tradition of Elgar. Not surprisingly, the all instrumental works have a 'vocal quality' to them which is authentic in its reflection of the early period of the 20th century. Also unmistakable is a 'sonorous englishness' that pervades the Serenade and Parry's Nonet : The Capricorn knew how to play these and we can feel a measure of the pleasure they took making this music.

Parry's relatively early nonet (1877) is scored for flute, oboe, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and 2 horns. It is strongly influenced by Brahms and Schumann but does display some of the characteristics of Parry's own style. It is well performed by the Capricorn ensemble, and at times they almost manage to convince the listener that there is more than uninspired note-spinning to this work. Unfortunately not even their nuanced, well-balanced and spirited performances can in the end save this work from being relatively taxing on one's patience. That it is well-crafted and goes through all the gestures does not really help very much, and that there are, indeed, things to savor in the slow movement and the finale isn't enough to warrant a general recommendation. A work for the Parry-specialist.

Stanford's nonet is scored for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, string quartet and double bass, which brings the advantage of more potential for variegated textures. But Stanford does not really take that opportunity in this relentlessly teutonic work (nothing wrong with teutonic music per se, but there is something questionable about Stanford's take on it). It is indeed somewhat more rewarding than the Parry, but it is still Stanford at his least imaginative and inventive - a rather dull work, in other words, despite some nice melodies and touches. Again it is certainly well played and the sound quality is very good throughout, but the lack of genuine musical rewards makes this more of a specialist issue.