Edward Elgar - Symphonies; Orchestral Works (John Barbirolli)

Information

Composer: Edward Elgar

CD1:

• (01-04) Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55
• (05) Introduction and Allegro for string quartet and string orchestra, Op. 47

CD2:

• (01- 04) Symphony No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 63
• (05) Elegy, Op. 58
• (06) Sospiri, Op. 70

CD3:

• (01-06) Falstaff, symphonic study in C minor, Op. 68
• (07) Cockaigne ("In London Town"), Op. 40
• (08) Froissart, Op. 19

CD4:

• (01-15) Variations on an Original Theme "Enigma", Op. 36
• (16-20) 5 Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Op. 39
• (21-23) Serenade in E minor, Op. 20

CD5:

• (01-05) Sea Pictures for alto & orchestra, Op. 37
• (06-09) Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

Allegri Quartet (Op. 47)
Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano (Op. 37)
Jacqueline du Pré, cello (Op. 85)
Philharmonia Orchestra (Op. 19, 36, 39, 40, 55, 58 & 70)
Sinfonia of London (Op. 20 & 47)
Hallé Orchestra (Op. 63 & 68)
London Symphony Orchestra (Op. 37 & 85)
John Barbirolli, conductor

Date: 1962-1966
Label: EMI

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Review

Barbirolli was aged between 63 and 67 when he made these recordings and had only four more years to live after the latest sessions. He brought to his Elgar a lifetime of associations which included being amongst the earliest solo proponents of the Cello Concerto. He knew the composer and had his imprimatur as a result of conducting the Second Symphony in 1927. That these tapes were made in the 1960s when Elgar’s music still stood in the unwarrantedly mired reputation of imperial bombast is all the more remarkable.

While this bargain set is presented with the typically spartan minimalism of this well loved series you are not short-changed on quality. The recordings are excellent 1960s EMI vintage and the rewardingly detailed essay is by Lyndon Jenkins. TheIntroduction and AllegroandSerenadeare from the illustrious Sinfonia of London sessions originally issued on ASD 521; vinyl that seemed destined to remain forever in the catalogue and at full price. This is their first ever appearance at bargain price and they add decisively to the attractions of this set. Rangy, poignant and full-blooded playing is yours for the taking in theIntroduction and Allegro. There’s a wondrous analogue depth to the recording which captures the throaty attack of the massed strings. Incredibly this was Barbirolli’s sixth and final recording of the work. Isn’t this the recording exhilaratingly used by Ken Russell in his Elgar film: the final titles with the camera mounted in a car accelerating up the hill roads?

Babrirolli’s reading of the First Symphony sometimes feels as if it has lead weights attached, at least in the first movement. It would be an eccentric sole representative but it is of the type that easily engenders enormous affection. It has a special plangency and lustre greatly assisted by the harp’s underpinning, captured even in moments of notable climax. No surprises there as EMI’s team proved a decade later with the harp figuration refulgently heard in Birmingham for the Walton-Frémaux coronation marches. The Second Symphony has the same virtues and faults. Barbirolli relishes every moment – and there is pleasure in that for the listener too. This lacks the headstrong potency of the Solti/LPO Decca which remains both watershed and reference disc as much as Barbirolli does for theIntroduction and Allegro. Once again however the recording proclaims its high calling in capturing the violins’ ‘fugitive gleam’ for example in the second movement at 2:20 and also the assertive grandiloquent bloom of the horns. The strolling legato of the finale is lovingly paced and as well judged as the pregnant gait Barbirolli mints for the opening of the First Symphony. The stereo separation and other spatial qualities excitingly enhance the bold and noble brass-string dialogues from 4:10 onwards in the finale. The climax with that swaying asymmetrical syncopation at 8:50-8:53 still has the power to get you on your feet.

Barbirolli’sFalstaffhas the impetuous qualities of its subject, dissolute, quixotic, rash (quite a lot of that), given to humour, poetry, affectionate lechery and self-pity. This is a reading as full of unruly life as Robert Nye’s portrayal of Falstaff or in Orson Welles filmThe Chimes at Midnight. The conductor, himself a cockney, knew and loved Elgar’s London as reflected inCockaigneand delivers an impetuous and loving reading which in this case does not dawdle (2:12). That shiver of youthful panache can also be felt in the earlyFroissartoverture – presumably its first recording since the composer’s own. As withFalstaffthe recording ofEnigmais generously tracked so that you can find your way around with ease. While this does not have the momentum of the Beecham version (BMG-Sony) – a personal favourite – it is grand and expansive and most artistically recorded. The marches are crackingly done and Nos. 2 and 4 stand out in this company for their gruffly spick and span rigour. That said I still rate Norman Del Mar’s recording with the RPO very highly indeed for its vivid character (DG-Universal).

The final disc of the five is an exact copy of another well-loved EMI LP (ASD 655) with a phenomenally long life at full price in the EMI catalogue. Janet Baker, caught in her early prime, is matchless in theSea Picturesmaking, with her sincerity and naturally pellucid enunciation, a masterful impression of a work that is not out of Elgar’s top drawer. The Du Pré Cello Concerto is also most beautifully and passionately done and is generally reckoned a reference version. For me it lacks the sheer voltage overload of her irresistible version made live in 1970 with her husband conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra (BMG-Sony). Like all these recordings these two nevertheless stand as testimony to the velvet and satin translucency of the now-demolished Kingsway Hall; almost as much of a loss as Barbirolli himself.

Looking back we have now adjusted to the imbalances of the Elgar-Barbirolli heritage. There’s no Violin Concerto. Such a pity he did not record the concerto in the 1960s with the then still fiery Ida Haendel – rather than the honour falling to an elderly Boult when the flames were reduced to a glimmer (Testament). We also missedIn the South(although there is a BBC Legends CD of a radio broadcast from circa 1970) a piece which should surely have suited Barbirolli’s Italian blood if theIntroduction and Allegrois anything to go by. As it is, the crown for that work belongs with Constantin Silvestri and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra – another EMI treasure – a trueGreat Recording of the Century. I should add that I recently heard the Sinopoli version on DG and was impressed.

This box is a commanding Christmas bargain. Readings that are still exciting, eccentrically blighted and blessed, magnificent and suffused with radiant personality.

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

More reviews:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Orchestral-Works-Edward/dp/B000I0SGXA
https://www.amazon.com/Elgar-Orchestral-Works-Edward/dp/B000I0SGXA

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Edward Elgar (2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius, chamber music and songs. Elgar has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously. Between 1914 and 1925, he conducted a series of acoustic recordings of his works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar

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John Barbirolli (2 December 1899 – 29 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 1943 and conducted for the rest of his life. Barbirolli was particularly associated with the music of English composers such as Elgar, Delius and Vaughan Williams. His interpretations of other late romantic composers, such as Mahler and Sibelius, as well as of earlier classical composers, including Schubert, are also still admired.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barbirolli

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