Vaughan Williams: A Sea Symphony

Albumbeschreibung

Few symphonies are as compelling and moving as Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony, a setting for soprano, baritone, choir, and large orchestra on poetry by Walt Whitman that is often credited with reviving the British symphonic movement. This ecstatic live performance by Mark Elder and The Hallé is musically convincing and emotionally stirring, and soprano Katherine Broderick, baritone Roderick Williams, and the combined forces of the Hallé Choir, the Hallé Youth Choir, Schola Cantorum, and Ad Solem contribute to the vastness of the sound, the richness of details, and the mystical depth of the music. Elder's interpretation is fluid and flexible, with some noticeable fluctuations in tempo at the service of the text to give it clarity. However, he also emphasizes those seldom-heard inner voices and softer orchestral colors that are sometimes buried but lend the music an impressionist cast, and he shows great sensitivity to Vaughan Williams' innovative scoring. There have been several fine recordings of A Sea Symphony that continue to be reissued, notably those by Adrian Boult, André Previn, Bernard Haitink, Richard Hickox, and Leonard Slatkin, so Elder is in good but competitive company that makes choosing a recording extremely difficult. While Boult's still holds sway with most traditionalists, Elder's recording will likely find new fans in a much younger audience.
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