Arnold Bax - Chamber Music (Nash Ensemble)

Information

Composer: Arnold Bax

1. Nonet for flute, oboe, clarinet, harp, string quartet & double bass: I. Molto moderato - Lento
2. Nonet for flute, oboe, clarinet, harp, string quartet & double bass: II. Allegro - Lento espressivo
3. Oboe Quintet: I. Tempo molto moderato - Allegro moderato - Tempo primo
4. Oboe Quintet: II. Lento espressivo
5. Oboe Quintet: III. Allegro giocoso - Più lento - Vivace
6. Elegiac Trio for flute, viola & harp
7. Clarinet Sonata: I. Molto moderato
8. Clarinet Sonata: II. Vivace - Pochittino meno posso (Lento)
9. Harp Quintet

The Nash Ensemble

Philippa Davies, flute

Gareth Hulse, oboe

Michael Collins, clarinet

Marcia Crayford, violin

Iris Juda, violin (Quintets)

Elizabeth Wexler, violin (Nonet)

Roger Chase, viola

Christopher van Kampen, cello

Duncan McTier, double bass

Skaila Kanga, harp

Ian Brown, piano & conductor (Nonet)

Date: 1996

Label: Hyperion

http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA66807

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Review

GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE / CRITICS' CHOICE

How marvellous it is after all these years to be able to welcome a truly first-rate modern recording of Bax’s Nonet. What a bewitching creation it is, overflowing with beguiling invention and breathtakingly imaginative in its instrumental resource (the sounds created are often almost orchestral). Bax worked on the Nonet (which began life as a violin sonata) at the same time (1929-30) as he was composing his Third Symphony and, as Lewis Foreman observes in his exemplary booklet-note, there are striking similarities between the two works: compare, for example, the rhythmic pungency of the opening of the Nonet’s second movement with the first half of the symphony’s finale. The Nash Ensemble (under the direction of Ian Brown) give a masterly, infinitely subtle reading – a worthy successor to the classic 1937 recording with the Griller Quartet and distinguished colleagues (now beautifully refurbished by Dutton Laboratories).

The remainder of the disc brings comparable pleasure. The delightful Oboe Quintet (written for Leon Goossens in 1922) receives immensely characterful treatment, especially the jaunty, Irish-jig finale (such sparkling, richly communicative playing!). The same is true of the lovely Harp Quintet, which is essayed here with a rapt intensity and delicious poise to outshine a rival Chandos offering with the English Quartet (the excellent harpist, Skaila Kanga, is common to both performances). In the hands of these stylish artists, the Elegiac Trio possesses a delicacy and gentle poignancy that are really quite captivating; indeed, the present account came as something of a revelation to this writer (until now I had never rated this piece very highly in the Bax chamber music canon).

That just leaves the engaging Clarinet Sonata, a work that has fared well in the recording studio over the last few years. Suffice to report, Michael Collins and Ian Brown are compelling advocates, and theirs is a performance to set beside (if not supersede) those of Emma Johnson and Malcolm Martineau and Janet Hilton and Keith Swallow.

Beautiful sound and expert balance throughout. This treasurable Hyperion release will certainly figure in my “Critics’ choice” at the end of the year.

-- Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone

More reviews:

BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****

http://www.amazon.com/Bax-Quintet-Elegiac-Clarinet-Sonata/dp/B000002ZWF

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Arnold Bax (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral music. In addition to a series of symphonic poems he wrote seven symphonies and was for a time widely regarded as the leading British symphonist. In his last years Bax found his music regarded as old-fashioned, and after his death it was generally neglected. From the 1960s onwards, mainly through a growing number of commercial recordings, his music was gradually rediscovered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Bax

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The Nash Ensemble is a chamber orchestra consisting of 11 regular members, though their number can vary according to the work performed. The group's repertory is broad, but favours modern works by English composers. Founded in 1964 by Amelia Freedman, its longtime artistic director, the Nash Ensemble took its name from the famous Nash terraces in London, designed by architect John Nash. Mostly associated with the Hyperion label, it has continued to record prolifically, with releases balanced between mainstream repertory and contemporary works in many styles and from many different countries

http://www.nashensemble.org.uk/

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