Elgar: The Lark Ascending

Chronique

Among the young violinists contending for the place of the recently retired Tasmin Little is Jennifer Pike, who has already recorded Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending in its usual orchestral form and in a Swedish choral arrangement. Here, she returns with the original violin-and-piano version, which is not much heard outside of Britain. It's a clean performance, enhanced by the presence of Little's frequent accompanist, Martin Roscoe, but what really makes it click is its proximity on the program to the quite rare Violin Sonata in A minor, composed by Vaughan Williams in 1954. This is a difficult work, involved in its textures, and showing signs of Vaughan Williams' characteristic pastoral sound only in the theme-and-variations finale. Even there, the modal scale is used in an unusual way: it propels the variations forward in a kind of linear elaboration, with only small boundaries between the variations. This is just one step away from the structure of The Lark Ascending, and the strong forward motion of Pike's playing is ideal in bringing out Vaughan Williams' line of thought. One can find more sensuously beautiful versions of The Lark Ascending, but few that place it in the context of the composer's other music so well. The situation is similar with the Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82, of Elgar, which opens the program. Pike does not delve into Wagnerian murk, but keeps things moving, even in the highly melodic central Romance where heavy vibrato has been the norm in several other recordings. It's a fresh recital of British chamber music, beautifully recorded by Chandos at Potton Hall, and it demands attention for this rising violinist.

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