Ralph Vaughan Williams

This two-CD collection offers a strong, masterfully performed selection of Vaughan Williams' shorter orchestral works. All the best-known pieces are here–the Tallis Fantasia, the Fantasia on Greensleeves, The Lark Ascending, Dives and Lazarus–as well as lesser-known but equally beautiful works such as the Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1, the Concerto Grosso and the Oboe Concerto. Disc One is devoted to performances by Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; on Disc Two, Barry Wordsworth and the New Queen's Hall Orchestra take over, except for one selection–the fiercely dramatic Partita for Double String Orchestra–performed by Sir Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic. I did not think there could be a more beautiful performance of The Lark Ascending than the one by Boult and Hugh Bean, but the recording here by Marriner and Iona Brown is at very least its equal. For anyone who loves the music of Vaughan Williams, or for anyone who wants to get acquainted with this great and underrated composer, this double-CD set is a must.

Ralph Vaughan Williams' A London Symphony, otherwise known as the Symphony No. 2 in G major, was composed between 1911 and 1913, and premiered in 1914. After the score was lost in the mail, reconstructed from the short score and orchestral parts, and revised twice, the symphony was published at last in 1920, though it was ultimately replaced by the definitive version in 1936, with cuts to the about 20 minutes of the original material. This recording by Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra presents the 1920 version, along with three short works, Sound sleep for female voices and small orchestra, Orpheus with his lute for voice and orchestra, and the Variations for brass band. The filler pieces are delightful rarities that Vaughan Williams specialists will find of some interest, though most listeners will prize this recording for the energetic and colorful performance of the symphony, which is one of the composer's most vivid and satisfying works.

This new album of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, the latest by the London Choral Sinfonia and Michael Waldron, features collaborators including violinist Jack Liebeck and tenor Andrew Staples. The collection includes works such as Vaughan Williams's Violin Concerto; ""In Windsor Forest,"" adapted from the opera 'Sir John in Love;' and ""Prelude on Gibbons’ Song 13,"" newly orchestrated for strings. Among these adaptations are Vaughan Williams' own transcriptions of J.S. Bach's works, including the 'Giant' Fugue and 'Schmucke Dich' chorale, reflecting his admiration for Bach's music. The album contains poignant pieces like ""Nothing is here for tears,"" a sombre response to King George V's death, and ""Land of our birth,"" an homage to Britain's World War II victory.

This new album of music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, the latest by the London Choral Sinfonia and Michael Waldron, features collaborators including violinist Jack Liebeck and tenor Andrew Staples. The collection includes works such as Vaughan Williams's Violin Concerto; ""In Windsor Forest,"" adapted from the opera 'Sir John in Love;' and ""Prelude on Gibbons’ Song 13,"" newly orchestrated for strings. Among these adaptations are Vaughan Williams' own transcriptions of J.S. Bach's works, including the 'Giant' Fugue and 'Schmucke Dich' chorale, reflecting his admiration for Bach's music. The album contains poignant pieces like ""Nothing is here for tears,"" a sombre response to King George V's death, and ""Land of our birth,"" an homage to Britain's World War II victory.

The song cycles of Ralph Vaughan Williams recorded here, some of them including instruments other than the piano, are some of his most characteristic early works. One hears both his growing interest in folk song and his indebtedness to Ravel, put together with a piquant kind of youthful ambition. In the opening Four Hymns for tenor, piano, and viola, the generally agnostic or atheist Vaughan Williams composed some lovely examples in the rare genre of religious art song. The only really well-known set here is 1909's On Wenlock Edge, and the Britishness of the whole project is shown by the fact that the annotator does not feel it necessary to name the author of the texts. It is A.E. Housman, whose faux-simple verses are ideally suited to the natural voice of tenor Nicky Spence.

‘Essential listening’ … ‘fabulously assured’ … ‘unequivocally excellent’: just a few of the critical superlatives earned by Martyn Brabbins’s magnificent Vaughan Williams symphony cycle. In this, the penultimate release of the series, two of the late symphonies are coupled with more rare RVW.

Ralph Vaughan Williams’s sublime Mass in G minor reveals the composer’s absorbing interest in using the modal harmonic language and contrapuntal textures of the English late Renaissance to achieve a huge emotional and dynamic range. Undoubtedly the most technically demanding work on this disc is A Vision of Aeroplanes, a virtuosic motet for mixed chorus and organ. Several neglected works also feature here, including The Voice out of the Whirlwind, an anthem for mixed chorus and orchestra or organ, and Valiant-for-truth, one of several works based on Bunyan’s Christian allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Kees Bakels’ Vaughan Williams cycle is much better than many British critics like to admit. It’s strange, but you would think that it would be a source of pride for foreign musicians to conduct native composers like Vaughan Williams and Elgar. Unfortunately, what usually happens is that the “outsider” takes the music and promptly outclasses the home-grown talent. Such was the case with Slatkin’s Vaughan Williams cycle, which eclipsed the efforts of the likes of Boult and Handley, and it’s pretty much the case here.

André Previn recorded this symphony twice, the first time around for RCA with the London Symphony Orchestra. That was, and is, a very fine performance, but this one is finer still. His tempos have slowed somewhat since that first version, but the truth is that you'd never notice unless you listened to music with a stopwatch. Vaughan Williams said that of all of his symphonies, this one was his personal favorite, and it's easy to understand why. The music has a very personal tunefulness and vigor, while the orchestration has a subtlety that clearly reflects the composer's period of study with Ravel. If you don't come away from this excellent performance thinking that the slow movement isn't among the most beautiful pieces of music in the universe, then listen again.