William Wallace: Symphonic Poems [Import]

William Wallace (Composer), Martyn Brabbins (Conductor), Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Martyn Brabbins
• Composer: William Wallace
• Audio CD (October 22, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000002ZXC
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,356 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sir William Wallace - Symphonic Poem No 5: Lento

2. Sir William Wallace - Symphonic Poem No 5: Misurato

3. Sir William Wallace - Symphonic Poem No 5: Andante con moto

4. Sir William Wallace - Symphonic Poem No 5: Vivace

5. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Allegro con anima

6. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Con brio 'Au moins sera de moy memoire'

7. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Piu lento 'Ou s'en va tout?'

8. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Ballade des Dames du Temps jadis

9. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Ballade pour prier Notre Dame

10. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Allegro

11. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Allegretto 'Il n'est bon bec que de Paris'

12. Villon - Symphonic Poem No 6: Largo 'Je plaings le temps de ma jeunesse'

13. The Passing of Beatrice - Symphonic Poem No 1

14. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Largo sostenuto

15. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Vivace

16. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Andante

17. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Con fuoco

18. Sister Helen - Symphonic Poem No 3: Meno allegro

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine if not particularly distinguished music in excellent performances, June 6, 2010

By 

G.D. (Norway) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: William Wallace: Symphonic Poems (Audio CD)

William Wallace (1860-1940) was a Scottish composer and writer on music, a professor of Harmony at the Royal Academy of Music, a classical scholar and Hebrew scholar, a medical doctor (eye surgeon), poet and painter. Maybe he spread his net too wide, for his compositions have more or less sunk without a trace - in that respect the Hyperion revival, consisting of this and a companion disc devoted to his Creation Symphony, is very welcome. Is the music worth it? I'd go for a "yes", although there are no hidden masterpieces here, nor even an individual voice - yet there is much to savor nonetheless in his very late romantic, Wagnerian (and Lisztian) music. I don't recommend expecting another Bantock, but historically Wallace and Bantock belonged to the same generation of composers who sook to break away with the conservativism of their time, looking instead to the opulent and dramatic post-Wagnerian late romanticism that was developing in e.g. Germany.

Wallace wrote six symphonic poems, four of which are given here. They are consistently extravagant with stirringly dramatic passages and full of color. On the flip-side, there is rarely any really memorable themes, and the works are generally longer than their somewhat episodic structures can really sustain. Nevertheless there is much good music here.

The topic of the Scottish rebel hero William Wallace (of Braveheart fame, I suppose) was an obvious topic for a symphonic poem, I guess, given that he shared name and nationality with the composer. It is appropriately dramatic in the battle scenes and wistful in its depiction of Scotland, although not particularly memorable overall. The Passing of Beatrice is of course based on Dante and depicts the transition from Purgatory to Paradise; the music is reverential and opulent, redolent at times of Parsifal - Wallace was good at calm radiance, but here it goes on for longer than ideal. Sister Helene is a melodramatic work of frustrated love, murder and sorcery. It is apparently conceived of as a portrait of Helen, and is thus interestingly many-layered and ambiguous with warmth as well as fiercely desperate insanity.

Most rewarding, however, is Wallace's last symphonic poem, Villon. A mischievous, clever piece, it is (as one might suspect) a not-too-distant cousin of Elgar's Falstaff and Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel - not perhaps quite on the same level of inspiration, but a very attractive work nonetheless. Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony play with all the flair, spirit, color and opulence the music needs, and while this might not perhaps be an essential release, it is still a very attractive one, and one that can be safely recommended to lovers of late romantic, lush orchestral works.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Scottish Orchestral Music, April 18, 2007

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: William Wallace: Symphonic Poems (Audio CD)

I was pleased with myself when I heard this recording and thought highly of it, only to see the English magazine, 'Grammaphone' highlight it as a featured album of the month when it came out about 12 years ago. Needless to say, this William Wallace is NOT the same Wallace featured in the movie 'Braveheart', but a Scottish composer of 400 years later. All the works are very pretty, and prettily performed, with the expected influence from Wagner, and none from any more modern composer. Amazon's list price is a bit steep, as it originally listed for around $17, typical of a Hyperion release.

Great if you are fond of early 20th century UK music.