Customer Reviews

Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 in D; Bax: Tintagel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Some of Sir John Barbirolli's greatest recordings included music of his countryman, Ralph Vaughan Williams. This Vaughan Williams Fifth Symphony falls just a little short. It was recorded for EMI in the 1960s and the sound quality is vintage '60s EMI: warm and full, yet with plenty of detail. But, to my ears, the performance sounds just a tad "disconnected." I usually cherish Sir John's expressive eccentricities, but here the conductor's agogic distortions really do seem to get in the way of a coherent projection of the symphony's (considerable) architecture. On the other hand, the performance of Bax's gorgeous tone poem "Tintagel" is one of the greatest recordings of British music ever made. Every mood in this very moody, Tristanesque gem is expertly conveyed and Bax's elusive structure is masterfully underlined. Perhaps others will respond more enthusiastically to the VW symphony. But, to my taste, Sir Adrian Boult, Andre Previn, and the underrated Vernon Handley all provide more satisfying performances of what is one of VW's finest symphonies.

There are many fine performances of this great symphony but Sir John's is in a class by itself. The Philharmonia was a studio orchestra created from the best elements of all the great London orchestras and it played everything superlatively. Sir John gets the pulse of this piece and the performance never fails to reach the soul. The third movement or Romanza taken from his great vocal work, "The Pilgrim"s Progress", is sheer majesty and no one has equalled its dramatic power as Sir John did. He had the measure of this music like nobody else and if one needs only one performance of this work - this is it! The performance of Bax's "Tintagel" is also one of the finest available which makes this disc irresistible.

I've owned this Barbirolli recording of Vaughan Williams' 5th for more than 30 years, originally as an Angel LP & now as an EMI cd, & I treasure it. I also own readings by Boult & Previn which are very fine as well; however, Barbirolli seems to best communicate the spiritual elements of this great music. In short, I cannot recommend this recording highly enough - it never fails to elevate me. (The reading of Tintagel on this disc is also exceptional.)