Ernest John Moeran; R. V. Williams - Violin Concerto; The Lark Ascending (Tasmin Little)

Information

Composer: Ernest John Moeran; Frederick Delius; Gustav Holst; Edward Elgar; Ralph Vaughan Williams

1. Moeran - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: I. Allegro moderato
2. Moeran - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: II. Rondo. Vivace
3. Moeran - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: III. Lento
4. Delius - Légende
5. Holst - A Song of the Night, Op. 19 No. 1, H 74
6. Elgar - Chanson de matin, Op. 15 No. 2 (arr. Roger Turner)
7. Elgar - Chanson de nuit, Op. 15 No. 1 (arr. Roger Turner)
8. Elgar - Salut d'amour, Op. 12 (arr. Roger Turner)
9. Vaughan Williams - The lark Ascending

Tasmin Little, violin
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Andrew Davis, conductor

Date: 2013
Label: Chandos
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%2010796

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Review

On this recording, Tasmin Little, an acknowledged standard-bearer for, and specialist in, British music, gives us a feast of works for violin and orchestra, wonderfully supported by Andrew Davis (by all accounts a similar specialist by dint of his recent superb recordings of Elgar, Delius and Holst on Chandos) and the BBC Philharmonic. Little is already known for her many concert performances of The Lark Ascending, an outstandingly original work based ultimately on recurrent cadenzas (which are brilliantly controlled here). She is also well known for her insightful readings of the Delius concertos and sonatas. The somewhat Griegian Légende, albeit an early work written in Paris in 1892, deserves to be better known, for it bears all the hallmarks of Delius’s passionate love of surprising modulations and euphonious melody. Elgar’s miniatures Chanson de matin, Chanson de nuit and the earlier salon hit Salut d’amour are delicious, while Holst’s Song of the Night, not heard until 1984, reveals the unusual incipient chemistry of the composer’s transition from late-19th-century Romanticism to the mysticism of later works such as The Planets.

Little plays it with verve and panache but her most wide-ranging interpretation is reserved for the most substantial work on this disc, Moeran’s magnificent and entirely personal Violin Concerto, written between 1937 and 1942. This work, somewhat scandalously in my view, still remains a neglected masterpiece. Two movements of introspective melancholy lyricism (and what lyricism!), underpinned by Moeran’s particular assimilation of Delian harmony, flank a central Irish jig of tremendous energy, evoked with conviction by Little’s flair and clarity. Indeed, the quicker tempo of this movement (compared with Handley’s earlier recording on Chandos) is particularly thrilling. A sumptuous offering all round!

-- Jeremy Dibble, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE : ***** / RECORDING: *****
MusicWeb International  RECORDING OF THE MONTH
https://www.thestrad.com/the-lark-ascending-moeran-violin-concerto-delius-legende-holst-a-song-of-the-night-op19-no1-elgar-chanson-de-matin-op15-no2-chanson-de-nuit-op15-no1-salut-damour-op12-vaughan-willia/5415.article
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Review/383282%2Cmoeran-vaughan-williams-violin-concerto-lark-ascending-little-bbc-phil/davis.aspx
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lark-Ascending-Ernest-John-Moeran/dp/B00FNY1HDC

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Ernest John Moeran (31 December 1894 – 1 December 1950) was an English composer. He studied piano and composition at the Royal College of Music with Charles Villiers Stanford and, after the war, with John Ireland. Moeran came late in the canon of last major British composers heavily influenced by folk-song. By Moeran's time, this style was already seen as somewhat dated and he never made a big breakthrough as a composer despite the success of his Symphony (1934–1937), generally regarded as his masterpiece. Recently, there has been more interest in and many recordings of Moeran's works.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_John_Moeran

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Ralph Vaughan Williams (12 October 1872 – 26 August 1958) was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. Strongly influenced by Tudor music and English folk-song, his output marked a decisive break in British music from its German-dominated style of the 19th century. Vaughan Williams is among the best-known British symphonists, noted for his very wide range of moods, from stormy and impassioned to tranquil, from mysterious to exuberant. His works have continued to be a staple of the British concert repertoire, with all his major compositions have been recorded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Vaughan_Williams

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Tasmin Little (born 13 May 1965 in London) is an English classical violinist. She is best known and widely acclaimed as a concerto soloist, and also performs as a recitalist and chamber musician. Her first professional performance as a soloist was in 1988 with The Hallé. She made her first appearance at the BBC Proms in 1990, and has appeared regularly since. Little has been an exponent of the works of composer Frederick Delius throughout her career. She has released multiple albums, winning the Critics Award at the Classic Brit Awards in 2011 for her recording of Elgar's Violin Concerto.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmin_Little

http://www.tasminlittle.org.uk/

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