A Portrait of Vaughan Williams [Box set]

Ralph Vaughan Williams (Composer), William Boughton (Conductor), Stephen Darlington (Conductor), English String Orchestra (Orchestra), Iain Simcock (Performer), Peter Gritton (Performer), Pauline Martin (Performer), Ian Barratt (Performer), Timothy Mirfin (Performer), David Le Monnier (Performer), Paul Martin (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Iain Simcock, Peter Gritton, Pauline Martin, Ian Barratt, Timothy Mirfin, et al.
• Orchestra: English String Orchestra
• Conductor: William Boughton, Stephen Darlington
• Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams
• Audio CD (February 23, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Nimbus Records
• ASIN: B00000I757
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,628 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #34 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Te Deum

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential boxed set of RVWs work, April 18, 2000

By 

William "williamnedblake" (Kansas City, MO, United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Portrait of Vaughan Williams (Audio CD)

Originally, I was confused when I encountered this set, as it incorporates four formerly individual Nimbus releases, now deleted from their catalogue. Be warned, then, if you have Nimbus releases of 'An Oxford Elegy' (and other choral music), or of RVWs Chamber Music (including the 'Phantasy Quintet' and the 'String Quartet') - these are the same recordings!

That being said, if you don't have these titles, or you have them in another release, and you enjoy RVWs music, then you simply must add this anthology to your collection. These discs include the first recording of 'An Oxford Elegy' that I ever encountered; it is such a marvellous piece that you'll be scrambling for poetry anthologies to find bits of Matthew Arnold's 'Thyrsis' and 'The Scholar Gypsy' just to read along. 'Flos Campi' is a marvellous, almost impressionistic piece, which always brings an image of Roman legions marching slowly through Surrey to mind. The 'Phantasy Quintet' is exception, as is the 'String Quartet'. However, it is the recording of the 'Lark Ascending' (now sadly thieved by some cursèd auto manufacturer to flog their worthless vehicles) that is the high point of this, as it is of most, collections. Of course, I could be considered biased, as it is my all-time favourite piece of music. The collection is rounded out by, among others, the essential 'Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis' and an interesting selection of the Sacred and Secular songs, as well as three of RVWs Shakespeare treatments.

Nimbus recordings are first class, and under the skilled hand of William Boughton the English String Orchestra is incomparable. Words cannot bring to these works to the life that they have on hearing, whether first or repeated. They are absolutely something that must be experienced for themselves.