Havergal Brian.

[vandermolen]

I would view it more as a 'victory mug'... Brian has been one of my greatest models of artistic perseverance. Now mine will pay off, too: my highly ambitious and innovative first novel is going to be published by a reputatable publishing firm, based in my native Amsterdam. 'The Gothic' has informed the very structure of the work, without my having planned it that way...

Wow! That is such great news Johan. Congratulations. You can now begin work on the English translation!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Wow! That is such great news Johan. Congratulations. You can now begin work on the English translation!

Thanks! Ha! I'll have to change a word there - reputable!

[vandermolen]

As well as getting the mug of course I also received the new Naxos disk of Symphonies 8, 21 and 26.

It might be superfluous to review it because of course all brianites will be getting it, but let me just say that these are outstanding performances in outstanding sound. It was a shock to me to hear the modern and closely-recorded sound of No.8, which I had only heard in off the radio and AAD sound in other recordings. This is a stunning performance, and one that holds up against the Groves EMI and the BBC Fredman recording. I'll have to compare them to see which is my favourite, and certainly this recording sounded a little different in places compared to those I am used to, but overall it was a magnificently held-together and compelling performance.

Similarly, it's a revelation to hear this recording of No.21. I felt immediately that this was a better account that either the LSSO or Downes BBC recording. I remember that it wasn't until I heard the Brabbins/McAslan recording of the Violin Concerto that that work clicked for me, and it did so because it made Brian's Violin Concerto sound like other composers' Violin Concertos. Similarly this account makes No.21 sound like other symphonies (almost the only one of Brian's that does so), not one of the 'Cheltenham Symphonies' that MacDonald wrote of, but a very English-sounding work none-the-less. I think Walker gets the finale exactly right.

Finally No.26, wood-block and all. What an odd work, the first movement is a vigorous allegro type movement which in this reading is raucous and almost chaotic in its flow. MacDonald thinks that Brian gave up in the last two movements, eager to get on to the next Symphony and so wrote an inconsequential middle movement and a flippant finale. I get the feeling from this account, as from the poor radio recordings I have heard before, that the last two movements are the flip side of the first movement, a sort of  low-intensity turbulent flow, which at times in the finale returns to same intensity, though not the same mood as the first movement. This is a fascinating symphony and I will re-listen to it with pleasure in this account.

So congratulations Alexander Walker and the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra, and thanks for all the Brian recordings, Naxos.

So, not only do you have the mug but also the CD which I 'pre-ordered' from Amazon and which has not yet appeared. I'm beginning to think that there is an HB conspiracy against me for allowing my membership to lapse.
Great review though - can't wait to hear No.8 and I love the cover image on the Naxos CD - very suitable for Brian I think.

[Maestro267]

Amazon has the release as being October 13th, so there's a bit of waiting yet.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Amazon has the release as being October 13th, so there's a bit of waiting yet.

HBS members can get the CD early (and more cheaply if you live in the UK). You are right that downloads, too, will be available from October 13th.

[calyptorhynchus]

Sorry everyone, I thought it would be available today (ie 1 October). In birdwatching if you describe a rare bird you saw and others didn't to them it called "gripping them off". I guess that's what my review is doing.



But you will enjoy these accounts!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

It has taken around 45 years for all Brian symphonies to be commercially available - waiting for another two weeks is nothing...

[Maestro267]

No need to apologise. I like reading enthusiastic and positive reviews for something I'm looking forward to. And yes, despite the labels just attaching a release month to their new discs, it's usually not until a subsequent Friday (the global release day) that you'll see the discs in stores or on your doormat. It's worth checking somewhere like Amazon, because for pre-orders, it'll tell you the full release date.

[Maestro267]

In this week's "File under: Rather bizarre":

A search on Twitter for "Havergal Brian" reveals an account that, 8 times since June 29th, has wished the aforementioned composer a happy 150th birthday, an event that is still some 8 years and 3 months away.

I don't know either...

Anyway, in not-so-bizarre news, I'm currently spinning Symphony No. 4. The a cappella choral section in the first movement is gorgeous!

[krummholz]

Good to hear that the new release is out there; I am eagerly looking forward to it. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be listed at all yet on Amazon's US site. If past experience is any guide, they will likely be several weeks behind the rest of the world on this side of the pond, but one never knows. One week now until the official release date...

[krummholz]

Success! I managed to order the new Naxos release from ArkivMusic.com. As far as I can tell that is the only US site that has it in stock, or at least advertises that it does. We shall see how soon it arrives; hopefully it won't take too long.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Good to hear! I downloaded the new CD. I still have to listen to 26. As for 21, the work sounds terrific. I don't agree with all of Walker's tempi, reading along in my old Musica Viva score, but his interpretation is persuasive and the playing of the orchestra superior (yes) to the LSSO's. This performance supersedes theirs, as far as I'm concerned. As for the Eighth, Walker equals Groves. Not much difference, to these ears. Symphony No. 8 is a powerful piece in either version. The ending in the Walker is a bit more mysterious, I think. That's all.

[Maestro267]

It's not a massive deal really, but I wouldn't be surprised if this new recording of No. 8 omits the organ part. After all, while it is effective and dramatic, it's only a brief pedal part (added by Brian decades later), and no other works on the disc call for organ.

[vandermolen]

Well, my wife came home from work yesterday to hear me playing the new Naxos Symphony 8 at top volume ('Can't you play something nice...it's horrible...it's torture'). Anyway I refused to turn it off until the end of Symphony 8 and what a terrific performance - the best of the three I have heard. The opening sounded more mahlerian than ever and there was a greater sense of rhythmic drive than in the Groves (much as I like that one as well). The visionary ending with those harps is a real 'goose bump' moment for me and especially in this performance. All credit to Dr John Grimshaw for the wonderful and entirely apt craggy mountain scene photo on the front cover (probably the best cover since the similar image on the old Unicorn CD of symphonies 10 and 21). On to symphonies 21 and 26 next.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Hm. You make quite a case for the Walker Eighth, Jeffrey. I'll revisit it today. Give my regards to your poor wife...

[vandermolen]

Hm. You make quite a case for the Walker Eighth, Jeffrey. I'll revisit it today. Give my regards to your poor wife...

Will do Johan!

[krummholz]

My Walker 8/21/26 arrived this week, without incident for once. Hurrah! Anyway i haven't had time to listen to 21 or 26 yet,  but really enjoyed Walker's Eighth, a very tight reading that never lets the tension lag. One feature will take getting used to: the trombone dissonance at the very end is subdued and mysterious instead of biting and menacing as in the Groves. I haven't seen the score so I really don't know whether it was written pianissimo as it seems to be played here. Also, the five sections of the work are not tracked separately as on EMI - though this IMO is not a loss at all as I can't imagine ever wanting to listen to less than the whole work.

I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to listen to the other two works on the disc - looking forward especially to #21 though, as it's the one Brian symphony I've never heard.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

One feature will take getting used to: the trombone dissonance at the very end is subdued and mysterious instead of biting and menacing as in the Groves.

Rising horn motif - fourth horn, muted, playing ppp (marked: remote)
Trombone chord: also muted: sforzando, dying down to ppp

The trombone chord is also accompanied by a pp tamtam stroke.

Those final bars are marked molto rit. and niento....

[krummholz]

Thank you, Johan. I just listened to the ending again. To my ears the trombone chord does not sound sforzando at all, just pp, then dying below that level. That first tam-tam stroke, on the other hand, is very audible, something I had not noticed before.

Now for #21...

[Alek Hidell]

Now that all the Brian symphonies have been recorded, is there an up-to-date listing of which recordings are available for each one? (And when I say "available," I don't necessarily mean "in print" but simply able to be found at a reasonable cost.)

I looked over the list at the HBS website (http://www.havergalbrian.org/discography-by-work.php) but it does not seem to be accurate (or up-to-date, at any rate). For instance, it does not list the Brabbins recording of 5, 19, and 27. (The site lists no recording of 27 at all.)

I bet there are Brianites here who can list at least one recorded performance of each of the 32. Would it be too presumptuous of me to ask for such a list?