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Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Nos. 7 "Sinfonia antartica" & 8
Product Type: Music
Product Price: $8.99
Manufacturer: Naxos
Purchase
Reviews
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-05-31
Summary: "A striking RVW Seventh done without reverence or sentimentlaity"
The "Sinfonia anartica" (apparently the Italian word leaves the first "c" out of "antarctic") is a star on records but a real rarity in American concert halls. Where the avid British listener can examine various recordings under a microscope, over here most recordings sound like much of a muchness. Most are very fine, none are truly bad. I prefer the Boult stereo account on EMI and feel o need for another, although I spliced in the moving snippets from Admiral Scott's diary intoned so sonorously by Ralph Richardson on the otherwise underwhelming Previn recording (RCA).
This budget recording from Bournemouth under the Dutch conductor Ress Bakels is notable for taking a different tack. It's extrovert and at times explosive. There is no atmosphere of reverence or tragedy. The fateful motif that opens the first movement isn't particularly fateful, in fact. Therefore, this reading comes the closest I've heard to being purely symphonic, ignoring the music's origins in a 1947 film about the tragic Scott expedition to the South pole. There's nothing to detail, really, about the tempos, the wordless women's chorus, or the soprano vocalise -- all are admirable. As for the digital sound from 1998, Naxos was just beginning to take audio quality seriously, yet the claims being made here about world-class sound are not realistic -- any collector interested in audio owns any number of CDs that are just as impressive. One peculiarity is that the spoken narrative, delivered a bit hammily by David Timson, appears at the very end of the CD and must be programmed in if you want to hear it properly sequenced.
As for the Eighth Sym., premiered in 1956 when the composer was 84, it's a quirky, charming work that caught critics off guard by its large section, which employed "all the 'phones and 'spiels known to the composer." the tone is elegiac at times, but the big broad themes come from the RVW of yore. It's the composer's shortest symphony, a compact, engaging work. As with the Seventh but even more so, I can't see the need to own more than one version, and Bakels' is good enough, although if you turn to Leopold Stokowski on BBC Legends, you'll hear more character and intensity. Bakels hears this as a work as light and breezy as, say, the Shostakovich First.
In all, this CD would be right for bargain hunters and those who are content to have a single CD to represent both works.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2009-08-09
Summary: "Comparative Review v. Boult"
I had hoped to pick up both CDs at the same store, but the first shopping trip netted me only the Naxos version by Bakels. I had not played the Sinfonia Antartica for some time, but it did not take me long in listening to the Naxos version to hear that this was a performance and recording that was highly charged with energy. Some of the climaxes in the first movement were quite emphatic, and the organ in the third movement was recorded more powerfully than I had ever remembered hearing it. My initial feeling was that for a bargain, I was really getting bang for the buck (and I only spent about six of them). The recording was fun to listen to, and I played it a few times at home, in the car, and at work before I finally tracked down the Boult, which set me back about ten bucks.
In some ways, the Boult almost sounded like a different work. Gone were the explosive climaxes, the organ was much more diminutive, and frankly, I found myself disappointed and surprised that the Boult version seemed so tame compared to the Bakels. But I found the piece to be such an old friend, and the recordings so different, that I just kept listening to them, over and over--not really comparing them head to head, but rather trying to really get the full measure of each recording on its own terms before trying to measure each closely against the other in a more disciplined comparative listening session.
As I did this, I found the Bakels version sounding more and more mannered--even annoying at times, as in the big climaxes in the first movement, where Bakels always seemed to be telegraphing his punches. I could virtually hear the orchestra taking a deep breath and "winding up" to deliver a telling blow. This effect might be sonically exciting, but musically, it is less than satisfying. The Boult performance, although outwardly tamer, began to sound more and more musically satisfying, more refined, and more likely to wear well over the long haul.
As I did more careful listening, I found that there were things to admire about both CDs. The Boult seemed to have more of an integrated conception both in sound and performance. One way to describe it is to say that under Boult, the piece sounds more like a symphony, whereas under Bakels, it sounds more like a series of tone poems. Even the sound quality contributed to this effect, with the Boult sounding wider but not as deep, while the Bakels tended to separate instruments more clearly, while at the same time conveying greater depth. The biggest sonic difference was in the organ underpinning in the third movement, with the organ sound being given a more prominent place in the mix in the Bakels version. Still, the Boult seemed a bit more atmospheric, more chilling; in a piece titled Sinfonia antartica, chilling is good. Overall, I simply found the Boult to be a more satisfying performance, and the sound, while not the best, eminently satisfying and appropriate.
Still, the Naxos recording is quite admirable, and a tremendous bargain at its price. The more I listen to it, in fact, the more I am impressed by its sonic impact, and I am beginning to think that the sound is so impressive that it actually makes the performance seem more melodramatic than Bakels intended it to be. Has the medium become the message? (With bass like that on the Bakels disk, and a good subwoofer, the medium can definitely become the massage.)
For some folks, the choice between these two releases might come down to the couplings. The Naxos features the 8th Symphony, a basically pastoral piece with an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink percussion section in the finale that is a lot of fun, while the Boult features the Aristophanic Suite from "The Wasps," a really enjoyable piece with its own moments of percussive propulsion.
Given that the price of the Boult is not that much more than the Bakels, I would recommend the Boult more highly, especially to the first-time buyer who has not heard this symphony before, but for sheer glory of sound, the Bakels cannot be beaten. In terms of performance, though, neither of these disks quite matches the Vernon Handley version on EMI Eminence (CD-EMX 2173, recorded in 1990 and released in 1991), but the Bakels CD has the best sound.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-04-19
Summary: "One of the Best and Yet Underrated 20th Century Symphony"
Knowledgeable people will argue for hours as to who the premier composer of the 20th century might have been. Most often we hear the case for Stravinsky and Schoenberg. Others who are familiar with his musical output might nominate Ralph Vaughan Williams. The 7th Symphony ("Sinfonia Antartica") is utterly unique in that it's the only movie score (Scott of the Antarctic) ever transmogrified into a full blown symphony as opposed to a much less demanding orchestral suite.
This is among the most powerful and emotionally moving music ever written. It conjures up the great white death of the Southernmost continent that swallowed Robert Falcon Scott and his men, even as they were nearing a reserve of stored food.
Vaughan Williams has assembled an orchestra of enormous proportions and knows exactly how to use it. You cannot listen to this music without a shiver going through your system. It stands as a landmark work of 20th Century composition, one that is not performed often enough to suit this reviewer.
Of the various recordings, Sir Adrian Boult's is the most accurate. He knew the composer and had a long personal relationship. This particular recording is recommended for the sonic heights it hits. With a top notch system, the crescendo in the first movement will send your sub-woofer into a frenzy, usually associated with low end effects. The Organ solo in the third movement will also rattle your walls and make enemies of your neighbors. The entire performance begs to be reproduced by the kind of sound system one usually finds in an Imax venue.
Regardless, your symphonic collection is simply incomplete without it. If you like your music big and exciting, "Sinfonia Antartica" should hold a hallowed place in your heart.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2004-04-28
Summary: "Excellent performances of one of our greatest symphonists."
The posthumous fate of Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) has not always been a kind one. After his death, his music passed through a prolonged period of being deeply unfashionable. Stodgy, tweedy Vaughan Williams--who could get into that?! But, like Elgar, whose music is also cast in a stuffy, stereotypically "British" light, there is much more to Vaughan Williams than one might think.
First, the man was a superb melodist. He was not a mere tunesmith, to be sure, but crafted works that are primarily conceived in terms of melodic development, and this makes his work immediately appealing. Second, he was a highly original thinker who used his colossal technique (he had a doctorate in composition and studied with Ravel) for surprisingly modern ends. His music can at times sound like a mixture of Bach and Debussy, but it is always unmistakably Vaughan Williams. He had a penchant for modal counterpoint, and his streams of parallel chords place his work squarely in the 20th century.
Vaughan Williams' unique talent for scoring is evident throughout this excellent recording of his 7th and 8th symphonies. The "Sinfonia antartica" is based upon a film score he supplied for a film about the explorer Robert Scott. It is by turns brooding and wistful--an ideal introduction to this magnificent composer. Symphony No. 8 is a more eclectic affair, brighter in temperament overall, but a rewarding example of the surprises that lurk around every corner of RVW's work.
Was he the greatest symphonist of the 20th century? The jury's still out. He certainly created a body of symphonic work that is second to none in its richness, diversity, and consistency. Mahler, Sibelius, and Shostakovich are usually considered the most important symphonists of the last century, but for those who seek other fare, you can't do better than Vaughan Williams.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2002-03-17
Summary: "Unbelievable Sound Quality"
The "Antarctica Symphony" portion of this disk has been called "the best digital recording ever made", and is often recommended for use as a demonstration disk on high-end audio equipment. One listen and you'll understand why...this is truly a sonic marvel.
Not a bad accomplishment for budget-price label Naxos!