Vaughan Williams's Veranda

[Lisztianwagner]

Karajan obviously liked to perform Fantasia.

 http://www.karajan.co.uk/britishcomposers.html

I would love to hear his Walton 1st Symphony, all be it a radio recording.

It definitely seems so!

I didn't know he performed Tippett too, how interesting.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Karajan obviously liked to perform Fantasia.

 http://www.karajan.co.uk/britishcomposers.html

I would love to hear his Walton 1st Symphony, all be it a radio recording.

I found this for you (the first movement).  Not certain if the other movements are there too.  There's also an artificial stereo one that's been uploaded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L822wRBxnqg (provided by Naxos of America--hope that you can listen to it in your neck of the woods).

PD

p.s.  And excellent sleuthing by you!

p.p.s.  I just went to youtube and typed in "Walton Symphony 1 von Karajan".

[Lisztianwagner]

I found this for you (the first movement).  Not certain if the other movements are there too.  There's also an artificial stereo one that's been uploaded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L822wRBxnqg (provided by Naxos of America--hope that you can listen to it in your neck of the woods).

PD

p.s.  And excellent sleuthing by you!

p.p.s.  I just went to youtube and typed in "Walton Symphony 1 von Karajan".

Here's the complete recording.

[calyptorhynchus]

I just thought I'd check on my memory of the Karajan Tallis Fantasia, I had thought this very odd bearing in mind the repertoire he is normally associated with. I'm glad that he conducted these works by British composers and a pity he didn't make recordings of them later in his career in more modern sound.

[Spotted Horses]

I recall Karajan's Philharmonia recording of the Tallis Fantasia on EMI being pretty good. When I listen to his recordings of Strauss' Metamorphosen from the 70's and 80's I think it is a great pity he never made a proper recording with the BPO, especially since he was performing the Tallis Fantasia into the 70's.

[vandermolen]

OT
Karajan's recording of Walton's 1st Symphony features on this CD:
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/e/emi62869a.php

[Pohjolas Daughter]

OT
Karajan's recording of Walton's 1st Symphony features on this CD:
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/e/emi62869a.php

I found that too!  I think that I only have one from that series (with Koussevitzky), but I enjoy it.  Will be keeping an eye out for it.

I did also find it on a "rarities" recording (think that it's a CD) on YT.

PD

[Irons]

OT
Karajan's recording of Walton's 1st Symphony features on this CD:
http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/e/emi62869a.php

I don't think you could come up with a more diverse selection if you tried.

[Irons]

In the Fen Country, not a piece discussed too often although a landmark in RVW's opus. I only possess a single recording which is Boult coupled with 3rd Symphony on LP. I found this interesting and worth passing on.

Part 1, http://landofllostcontent.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-reception-of-ralph-vaughan-williams.html

Part 2, http://landofllostcontent.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-reception-of-ralph-vaughan-williams_0453889229.html

[Pohjolas Daughter]

In the Fen Country, not a piece discussed too often although a landmark in RVW's opus. I only possess a single recording which is Boult coupled with 3rd Symphony on LP. I found this interesting and worth passing on.

Part 1, http://landofllostcontent.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-reception-of-ralph-vaughan-williams.html

Part 2, http://landofllostcontent.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-reception-of-ralph-vaughan-williams_0453889229.html

Thanks for that!  Just finished Part 1 and will read Part 2 over lunch. 

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Quite interesting reading!  One thing that I was surprised to read is that the first recording of it wasn't made until ten years after his death!

Those rvw journals are quite interesting to wander through.  Don't know if they still have it set up this way or not, but you used to be able to download a bunch of the earlier ones and for free.  I've personally archived Nos. 1 through 40 on my computer (along with some other articles that I've come across here and there), and also, well, I just had to save this picture! 


PD

p.s.  Well, I tried to delete one of the images, but I think that it (whatever I did) took out both!  Sigh...

[Irons]

Quite interesting reading!  One thing that I was surprised to read is that the first recording of it wasn't made until ten years after his death!

Those rvw journals are quite interesting to wander through.  Don't know if they still have it set up this way or not, but you used to be able to download a bunch of the earlier ones and for free.  I've personally archived Nos. 1 through 40 on my computer (along with some other articles that I've come across here and there), and also, well, I just had to save this picture! 
Not a valid attachment ID.

PD

Trust you enjoyed your lunch, PD. That surprised me too, also being the first true orchestral work.
I have not compared back to back so possibly I'm imagined it but a similarity with Holst A Somerset Rhapsody? They were very close at the time.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Trust you enjoyed your lunch, PD. That surprised me too, also being the first true orchestral work.
I have not compared back to back so possibly I'm imagined it but a similarity with Holst A Somerset Rhapsody? They were very close at the time.

Boy, I haven't listened to that Holst work in ages, so couldn't make any comments.  Interesting theory though. 

PD

p.s.  I tried deleting one of the photos of VW and Foxy, but both went "Poof".   

[Lisztianwagner]

In the Fen Country may not be one of Vaughan Williams' most famous compositions, but it is certainly a remarkable piece, very evocative and idyllic; it shows beautifully thrilling textures of light and shade for the richness of timbre colours and the subtle changes of dynamics often depicting a waving atmosphere, swelling in intensity and then quietening as well as for the variety of moods, sometimes peaceful and almost nocturnal, sometimes melancholic and meditative and then dreamy and intensely lyrical; at times the swaying orchestral development of the thematic lines reminds the fairy, imaginative melodies of the French Impressionism, quite compelling. Holst's A Somerset Rhapsody is a very interesting comparision, as a matter of fact they share some similarities, but not many in my opinion.

[Roasted Swan]

Trust you enjoyed your lunch, PD. That surprised me too, also being the first true orchestral work.
I have not compared back to back so possibly I'm imagined it but a similarity with Holst A Somerset Rhapsody? They were very close at the time.

I was slightly surprised about the "first true orchestral work" idea.  Obviously there are some earlier a-typpical/student orchestral works but both The Solent and Burley Heath have more than a few musical fingerprints of the mature RVW.  And although not published during his lifetime, RVW did think well enough of the former to mine its musical material for much later scores.  I think the "firstness" of In the Fen Country is more about RVW wholly embracing the musical potential of folk-inflected themes and harmony which - as stated in the article - along with Tudor music was such a liberating force for him.  Of course the main difference between this work and Holst's Somerset Rhapsody is that the latter does use actual folk themes while the former is all original albeit in the style of folksong....

[Brian]

I got the Vaughan Williams Edition last week. It's a good investment for me because although I owned many of his "major" works (read: symphonies), I didn't know a lot else about his work.

OK, here's what I've listened to so far! * = first ever listen to the work.

*Toward the Unknown Region. London PO & Choir, Adrian Boult
*Dona nobis pacem. London PO & Choir, Adrian Boult
*Fantasia on the Old 104th Psalm. Katin, London PO & Choir, Adrian Boult
*Magnificat. Watts, Ambrosian Singers, Orchestra Nova, Meredith Davies
*Serenade to Music, orchestral version. Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
*Old King Cole. Northern Sinfonia & Chorus, Richard Hickox
*Five Mystical Songs. Stephen Roberts, Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
*Preludes, Running Set, Sea Songs March. Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
Piano Concerto (duet version). Vronsky, Babin, London PO, Adrian Boult
*Phantasy Quintet. Music Group of London
Six Studies in English Folk Song. Eileen Croxford, David Parkhouse
*String Quartet No 2. Music Group of London
Concerto accademico. Bradley Creswick, Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
*Oboe Concerto. Jonathan Small, Royal Liverpool PO, Vernon Handley
*Variations (orch. Jacob). Bournemouth SO, Richard Hickox
*Four hymn preludes (of five; the fifth is missing, but the choral versions are on another CD). Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
Serenade to Music (singers and orchestra). London PO, soloists, Adrian Boult
Norfolk Rhapsody No 1. London SO, Adrian Boult
English Folk Song Suite. Philharmonia, Adrian Boult
The Wasps suite. London PO, Vernon Handley
*Prelude and Fugue for organ and orchestra. David Bell, London PO, Vernon Handley
Piano Concerto. Piers Lane, Royal Liverpool PO, Vernon Handley
*Concerto grosso. London PO, Adrian Boult
Tuba Concerto. Philip Catelinet, London SO, John Barbirolli
English Folk Song Suite. Royal Air Force Central Band, Eric Banks

There have been a lot of delightful surprises and one less delightful. The less delightful is that he wrote a lot of very fluffy light music that, sometimes, can trend toward the banal. I liked the Serenade to Music in its orchestral form well enough, but the sung version...oof. The words are so cheesy, and they seemed to transfer their cheese to the repeated violin solo, which I was really tired of by the end.

But the delightful surprises are so many more. I loved that first album of chorchestral stuff with Toward the Unknown Region and Dona nobis pacem (he has an extraordinary gift for lyrical vocal writing); I enjoyed the short Phantasy Quintet with his folksy influences; I got to try the orchestrated Variations. (The booklet gives no information whatsoever about the music, but these were written for band and Gordon Jacob added the strings.) And the concerto grosso for string orchestra! I had no idea that this existed at all, but it is a wonderful work, that over the course of 18 minutes goes from relatively austere, muscular writing in the style of Bliss or (maybe, pushing it) Walton to, in the finale, cracking a broad smile. What a delight. Where is it in contemporary compilations?

The chamber music is spottier for me. I didn't really "get" the second quartet on first listen, and currently am listening to the violin sonata, which is presumably some kind of ambitious early/student work. I wish the booklet provided information or at least dates!

Goals for later today: first-ever listen to Five Tudor Portraits and a relisten to Job.
Goals for next week: first-ever listens to Epithalamion, Riders to the Sea, Partita for double string orchestra, and the Mass in G Minor

[JBS]

I got the Vaughan Williams Edition last week. It's a good investment for me because although I owned many of his "major" works (read: symphonies), I didn't know a lot else about his work.

OK, here's what I've listened to so far! * = first ever listen to the work.

*Toward the Unknown Region. London PO & Choir, Adrian Boult
*Dona nobis pacem. London PO & Choir, Adrian Boult
*Fantasia on the Old 104th Psalm. Katin, London PO & Choir, Adrian Boult
*Magnificat. Watts, Ambrosian Singers, Orchestra Nova, Meredith Davies
*Serenade to Music, orchestral version. Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
*Old King Cole. Northern Sinfonia & Chorus, Richard Hickox
*Five Mystical Songs. Stephen Roberts, Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
*Preludes, Running Set, Sea Songs March. Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
Piano Concerto (duet version). Vronsky, Babin, London PO, Adrian Boult
*Phantasy Quintet. Music Group of London
Six Studies in English Folk Song. Eileen Croxford, David Parkhouse
*String Quartet No 2. Music Group of London
Concerto accademico. Bradley Creswick, Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
*Oboe Concerto. Jonathan Small, Royal Liverpool PO, Vernon Handley
*Variations (orch. Jacob). Bournemouth SO, Richard Hickox
*Four hymn preludes (of five; the fifth is missing, but the choral versions are on another CD). Northern Sinfonia, Richard Hickox
Serenade to Music (singers and orchestra). London PO, soloists, Adrian Boult
Norfolk Rhapsody No 1. London SO, Adrian Boult
English Folk Song Suite. Philharmonia, Adrian Boult
The Wasps suite. London PO, Vernon Handley
*Prelude and Fugue for organ and orchestra. David Bell, London PO, Vernon Handley
Piano Concerto. Piers Lane, Royal Liverpool PO, Vernon Handley
*Concerto grosso. London PO, Adrian Boult
Tuba Concerto. Philip Catelinet, London SO, John Barbirolli
English Folk Song Suite. Royal Air Force Central Band, Eric Banks

There have been a lot of delightful surprises and one less delightful. The less delightful is that he wrote a lot of very fluffy light music that, sometimes, can trend toward the banal. I liked the Serenade to Music in its orchestral form well enough, but the sung version...oof. The words are so cheesy, and they seemed to transfer their cheese to the repeated violin solo, which I was really tired of by the end.

But the delightful surprises are so many more. I loved that first album of chorchestral stuff with Toward the Unknown Region and Dona nobis pacem (he has an extraordinary gift for lyrical vocal writing); I enjoyed the short Phantasy Quintet with his folksy influences; I got to try the orchestrated Variations. (The booklet gives no information whatsoever about the music, but these were written for band and Gordon Jacob added the strings.) And the concerto grosso for string orchestra! I had no idea that this existed at all, but it is a wonderful work, that over the course of 18 minutes goes from relatively austere, muscular writing in the style of Bliss or (maybe, pushing it) Walton to, in the finale, cracking a broad smile. What a delight. Where is it in contemporary compilations?

The chamber music is spottier for me. I didn't really "get" the second quartet on first listen, and currently am listening to the violin sonata, which is presumably some kind of ambitious early/student work. I wish the booklet provided information or at least dates!

Goals for later today: first-ever listen to Five Tudor Portraits and a relisten to Job.
Goals for next week: first-ever listens to Epithalamion, Riders to the Sea, Partita for double string orchestra, and the Mass in G Minor

Has anything been remastered? Or are they just using the same masters that were used in the previous Collector's Edition?

I have the older one, but I'm not sure if the improved packaging is worth the upgrade.

[Brian]

Has anything been remastered? Or are they just using the same masters that were used in the previous Collector's Edition?

I have the older one, but I'm not sure if the improved packaging is worth the upgrade.

The only new remastering I have seen so far is for viola and harp arrangements of two miniatures. If you have the earlier box, this is an almost exact copy (Hurwitz has a video going into exact differences), and the endearing paintings on the CD sleeves are not worth the tiny, pointless booklet or the rather confusing backs of the CD sleeves, which list all the performers in a great big pileup traffic jam with (1, 4-7) or whatever after each name to denote the tracks on which they appear. Not as finessed as Warner's presentation for the Berlioz, Ravel, Prokofiev, Saint-Saens, or Ballets Russes editions.

[JBS]

The only new remastering I have seen so far is for viola and harp arrangements of two miniatures. If you have the earlier box, this is an almost exact copy (Hurwitz has a video going into exact differences), and the endearing paintings on the CD sleeves are not worth the tiny, pointless booklet or the rather confusing backs of the CD sleeves, which list all the performers in a great big pileup traffic jam with (1, 4-7) or whatever after each name to denote the tracks on which they appear. Not as finessed as Warner's presentation for the Berlioz, Ravel, Prokofiev, Saint-Saens, or Ballets Russes editions.

Thanks. I knew it's almost all the same recordings. But the old set has a tracklisting booklet and the CDs in paper sleeves, so even this is a step up.  But if there's little or no remastering, this becomes a lower priority.

[Mapman]

I loved that first album of chorchestral stuff with Toward the Unknown Region and Dona nobis pacem (he has an extraordinary gift for lyrical vocal writing);

Dona Nobis Pacem is great (especially Reconciliatoin)! I was able to perform it at my college.

I recently acquired a CD that includes Toward the Unknown Region. I'll try to listen soon!