Sir William Walton

Started by tjguitar, April 16, 2007, 09:15:49 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 5 Guests are viewing this topic.

Roasted Swan

Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on July 08, 2020, 09:11:42 AM
Yes, the prelude-globe is a spiritual and sublime piece. I can't believe that this is not included in the subsequent Suites.
It would take a year for me to fully grasp the difference among the 3 versions of Henry V as well as the nuances in many recordings.
I forgot to mention the Judd/Mathieson recording. My intuition is that you already have the album.

Brett - that Judd disc is very fine.  He is an excellent but often underappreciated conductor and Aaron Rosand was one of my favourite violinists with a musical temperament well suited to the Walton violin concerto

vandermolen

Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on July 08, 2020, 09:11:42 AM
Yes, the prelude-globe is a spiritual and sublime piece. I can't believe that this is not included in the subsequent Suites.
It would take a year for me to fully grasp the difference among the 3 versions of Henry V as well as the nuances in many recordings.
I forgot to mention the Judd/Mathieson recording. My intuition is that you already have the album.
FBK - thanks for reminding me of that disc which I do have (somewhere!) Unfortunately I think that the Henry V Suite is the Mathieson version rather than the Sargent - so no 'Prelude, the Globe' as far as I recall but RS is right that it is still a fine disc. I'm glad that you also think highly of 'Prelude -The Globe'. Like you I can't understand why it was missed out by Mathieson, which reminds me of Christopher Palmer and Bernard Herrmann missing out 'Machines' from Bliss's Suite from 'Things to Come'. Bliss included it in his own recording, recently reissued for the first time on Decca and I think that he knew best.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Irons

Quote from: vandermolen on July 08, 2020, 06:44:15 AM
I've just ordered the Tchaikovsky 'Pathetique' LP - your fault  ;D

Guilty as charged! :)
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

vandermolen

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

I ordered the disc  ;D ;D ;D ;D. Thank you for the rec.

Jeffrey: Too bad, it seems to me that the Carl Davis set is the only one existent recording of the Henry V/Sargent material. I am glad that it is included in the EMI box set!



Quote from: Roasted Swan on July 08, 2020, 10:02:41 AM
Brett - that Judd disc is very fine.  He is an excellent but often underappreciated conductor and Aaron Rosand was one of my favourite violinists with a musical temperament well suited to the Walton violin concerto

vandermolen

#465
Quote from: Forever Brett Kavanaugh on July 08, 2020, 08:00:04 PM
I ordered the disc  ;D ;D ;D ;D. Thank you for the rec.

Jeffrey: Too bad, it seems to me that the Carl Davis set is the only one existent recording of the Henry V/Sargent material. I am glad that it is included in the EMI box set!

FBK - yes, I think that you are quite right, although of course the Christopher Palmer 'Scenario' features the Globe Prelude. By the way the Olivier recording, which also includes it can be picked up very cheaply from Amazon UK although, of course, you'd have to pay the postage to the USA:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walton-Henry-Scenes-other-music/dp/B001J9T3WM

The title of the first customer review: 'Once more unto the Amazon shopping basket' made me laugh.
I also contributed a review myself and had a nice little exchange with the 'Amazon shopping basket' man in the comments section under his review.  :)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

Thank you Jeffrey. I already ordered the Walton-Olivier, Marriner and Penny albums. I will be busy listening these albums this year.
Succinct and informative review on Amazon! The shopping basket man provided a good review too. I was listening the Carl Davis recording yesterday. Sounds very good and colorful.




Quote from: vandermolen on July 08, 2020, 08:57:18 PM
FBK - yes, I think that you are quite right, although of course the Christopher Palmer 'Scenario' features the Globe Prelude. By the way the Olivier recording, which also includes it can be picked up very cheaply from Amazon UK although, of course, you'd have to pay the postage to the USA:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walton-Henry-Scenes-other-music/dp/B001J9T3WM

The title of the first customer review: 'Once more unto the Amazon shopping basket' made me laugh.
I also contributed a review myself and had a nice little exchange with the 'Amazon shopping basket' man in the comments section under his review.  :)

vandermolen

#467
Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 09, 2020, 06:01:26 AM
Thank you Jeffrey. I already ordered the Walton-Olivier, Marriner and Penny albums. I will be busy listening these albums this year.
Succinct and informative review on Amazon! The shopping basket man provided a good review too. I was listening the Carl Davis recording yesterday. Sounds very good and colorful.
Excellent DBK (you've changed your name  :o) thank you. I suspect that all those albums will give you great pleasure. The Olivier album with Richard III, Hamlet and the Spitfire thrown in has always been very special. One of the most enjoyable Walton discs I think, notwithstanding Symphony No.1, Belshazzar etc. Yes, I liked the shopping basket man's review. The Carl Davis album is great but you have it in your boxed set. Happy listening  :)
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

A few people told me that members here may think I am a right-wing fanatic. That would be an insult to the right-wing fanatics, so I changed the name.
Apropos of the No. 1, the Boult set is the recording I like most "as of now." It is powerful and somehow three-dimentional. I may be biased because I admire him.


Quote from: vandermolen on July 09, 2020, 07:10:02 AM
Excellent DBK (you've changed your name  :o) thank you. I suspect that all those albums will give you great pleasure. The Olivier album with Richard III, Hamlet and the Spitfire thrown in has always been very special. One of the most enjoyable Walton discs I think, notwithstanding Symphony No.1, Belshazzar etc. Yes, I liked the shopping basket man's review. The Carl Davis album is great but you have it in your boxed set. Happy listening  :)

Irons

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 09, 2020, 07:24:39 AM
A few people told me that members here may think I am a right-wing fanatic. That would be an insult to the right-wing fanatics, so I changed the name.
Apropos of the No. 1, the Boult set is the recording I like most "as of now." It is powerful and somehow three-dimentional. I may be biased because I admire him.

You may have changed your name but thankfully not your avatar from the great blues man, Robert Johnson. Do not change that!
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

vandermolen

#470
Quote from: Irons on July 09, 2020, 08:09:07 AM
You may have changed your name but thankfully not your avatar from the great blues man, Robert Johnson. Do not change that!
I agree. I don't know the artist but it's a great picture.

The best transfer of the Boult recording of Symphony No.1 is here:

However, the Somm disc is fine and includes Belshazzar's Feast.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Roasted Swan

I know this has been discussed several times before.  But today I picked up cheaply on Amazon this

[asin]B002COJCVA[/asin]

I've always enjoyed it as a film - the aerial sequences are still so powerful - but the reason for mentioning it here is that the viewer can choose to watch the film with either the original Walton soundtrack or the replacement Ron Goodwin one (which leaves the Walton "Battle in the Air" intact).  Apart from comparing the inherent qualities of the 2 scores - and the Goodwin is actually very good I find his closing credits sequence with the single Spitfire to be very powerful, it makes a fascinating study in how music shapes our emotional response to visual cues - just try the two differing opening marches to see what I mean.  The "double" (Walton & Goodwin complete) soundtrack can be bought as well



but stupidly expensive!  The interest here is the different takes of Arnold conducting "Battle in the Air"

vandermolen

#472
Quote from: Roasted Swan on July 09, 2020, 10:47:47 PM
I know this has been discussed several times before.  But today I picked up cheaply on Amazon this

[asin]B002COJCVA[/asin]

I've always enjoyed it as a film - the aerial sequences are still so powerful - but the reason for mentioning it here is that the viewer can choose to watch the film with either the original Walton soundtrack or the replacement Ron Goodwin one (which leaves the Walton "Battle in the Air" intact).  Apart from comparing the inherent qualities of the 2 scores - and the Goodwin is actually very good I find his closing credits sequence with the single Spitfire to be very powerful, it makes a fascinating study in how music shapes our emotional response to visual cues - just try the two differing opening marches to see what I mean.  The "double" (Walton & Goodwin complete) soundtrack can be bought as well



but stupidly expensive!  The interest here is the different takes of Arnold conducting "Battle in the Air"
Great stuff RS! I don't have a Blu-Ray player but I have the DVD which allows you to programme either soundtrack. It must be quite unique from that point of view. Today is 80th Anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain (I've just been watching a news item about how a 13 year old girl helped her dad work out how the Spitfire could accommodate eight rather than four machine guns in its wings) so, perfect timing for your purchase. I think that the film has improved with age and works surprisingly well on TV. I must watch the closing credits again as I thought it ended with an empty sky. I've seen it suggested, possibly here, that Malcolm Arnold may have had a hand in composing 'Battle in the Air' instead of just conducting it but I've no idea if that is true:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

I've been looking at the EMI Walton Edition boxed set. It does contain the Groves recordings of the Spitfire Prelude and Fugue, Johannesburg Festival Overture as well as interestingly chosing Haitink's granitic performance of the First Symphony (which I like) and the excellent Carl Davis CD of the film music.

On the subject of Spitfires, one just flew over the garden as I was hanging out the washing (being a domestic type you understand). I think that the Spitifire must have come from Dame Vera Lynn's funeral which was being held today in Ditchling, Sussex. The fly-past was a nice tribute to her role in raising wartime morale:
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#474
Yes the Groves recording in the box is wonderful- sharp performance and very good sound quality. I guess they were recorded in the 70-80s?
I thought that the Haitink No.1 was very good and I was happy about it, but David Hurwitz, a critic, thinks otherwise (and he is with the Previn orthodoxy).
The box is a very good set to overview his major works.

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/emis-underwhelming-walton-collectors-edition/

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=785499


I don't know about Vernon Handley, but enjoyed his Var. Hindemith.







Quote from: vandermolen on July 10, 2020, 06:16:38 AM
I've been looking at the EMI Walton Edition boxed set. It does contain the Groves recordings of the Spitfire Prelude and Fugue, Johannesburg Festival Overture as well as interestingly chosing Haitink's granitic performance of the First Symphony (which I like) and the excellent Carl Davis CD of the film music.

On the subject of Spitfires, one just flew over the garden as I was hanging out the washing (being a domestic type you understand). I think that the Spitifire must have come from Dame Vera Lynn's funeral which was being held today in Ditchling, Sussex. The fly-past was a nice tribute to her role in raising wartime morale:


Mirror Image

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 10, 2020, 08:01:52 AM
Yes the Groves recording in the box is wonderful- sharp performance and very good sound quality. I guess they were recorded in the 70-80s?
I thought that the Haitink No.1 was very good and I was happy about it, but David Hurwitz, a critic, thinks otherwise (and he is with the Previn orthodoxy).
The box is a very good set to overview his major works.

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/emis-underwhelming-walton-collectors-edition/

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=785499


I don't know about Vernon Handley, but enjoyed his Var. Hindemith.

The text bolded need a special emphasis. You know the old saying "Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has them." Who gives a damn about what that guy thinks. If this loser felt NOTHING from The Waterfall Scene in the As You Like It Suite, then he can no longer be trusted.

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#476
😆😆😆

I don't have the membership and couldn't read the entire review. Usually I tend to agree with his reviews and insights, as well as yours, but this time I may disagree with him on the Haitink No. 1 and this box set.

The Waterfall Scene is a great piece.


Quote from: Mirror Image on July 10, 2020, 08:23:51 AM
The text bolded need a special emphasis. You know the old saying "Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has them." Who gives a damn about what that guy thinks. If this loser felt NOTHING from The Waterfall Scene in the As You Like It Suite, then he can no longer be trusted.

vandermolen

Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 10, 2020, 08:01:52 AM
Yes the Groves recording in the box is wonderful- sharp performance and very good sound quality. I guess they were recorded in the 70-80s?
I thought that the Haitink No.1 was very good and I was happy about it, but David Hurwitz, a critic, thinks otherwise (and he is with the Previn orthodoxy).
The box is a very good set to overview his major works.

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/emis-underwhelming-walton-collectors-edition/

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=785499


I don't know about Vernon Handley, but enjoyed his Var. Hindemith.
Much as I admire Previn I've never liked that performance and prefer his later recording with the RPO. For me, that crucial oboe solo at the start has to be full of nervous tension, fragile, pleading and tentative. It sounds too matter-of-fact and prosaic in that Previn version and, after that, I lost all interest in the performance. I actually much prefer the Boult and Malcolm Sargent recordings. :o
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

One of the Amazon reviews contends that the Henry V/Sargent suite was in fact made by Walton himself rather than Sargent. I don't know who is right Wikipedia or this reviewer.

'In 1945 Walton prepared a four-movement adaptation (often mistakenly attributed to Malcolm Sargent) for chorus and orchestra, not including any of the battle music. Walton recorded only two movements from this version. One full-length recording, Carl Davis's 1986 rendition, runs not much more than 13 minutes—but the real value of that album lies in a rarely heard suite from Walton's AS YOU LIKE IT music."



Quote from: vandermolen on July 08, 2020, 08:57:18 PM
FBK - yes, I think that you are quite right, although of course the Christopher Palmer 'Scenario' features the Globe Prelude. By the way the Olivier recording, which also includes it can be picked up very cheaply from Amazon UK although, of course, you'd have to pay the postage to the USA:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Walton-Henry-Scenes-other-music/dp/B001J9T3WM

The title of the first customer review: 'Once more unto the Amazon shopping basket' made me laugh.
I also contributed a review myself and had a nice little exchange with the 'Amazon shopping basket' man in the comments section under his review.  :)

vandermolen

#479
Quote from: Dry Brett Kavanaugh on July 10, 2020, 10:11:13 AM
One of the Amazon reviews contends that the Henry V/Sargent suite was in fact made by Walton himself rather than Sargent. I don't know who is right Wikipedia or this reviewer.

'In 1945 Walton prepared a four-movement adaptation (often mistakenly attributed to Malcolm Sargent) for chorus and orchestra, not including any of the battle music. Walton recorded only two movements from this version. One full-length recording, Carl Davis's 1986 rendition, runs not much more than 13 minutes—but the real value of that album lies in a rarely heard suite from Walton's AS YOU LIKE IT music."
Very interesting indeed! Thanks for alerting us to this. And yet Walton conducts the Mathieson Suite on the EMI disc.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).