Richard Hickox, BBC Philharmonic - The Grainger Edition, Vol.1: Orchestral Works 1 (1996)
Richard Hickox, BBC Philharmonic - The Grainger Edition, Vol.1: Orchestral Works 1 (1996)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 289 Mb | Total time: 72:28 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Chandos | # CHAN 9493 | Recorded: 1996
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 289 Mb | Total time: 72:28 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Chandos | # CHAN 9493 | Recorded: 1996
A genuine tonic, this, and an auspicious start to Chandos’s ambitious Grainger Edition. Richard Hickox evidently has a deep affection for this intoxicatingly colourful repertoire and he draws a consistently alert and superbly stylish response from the BBC Philharmonic.
It was a shrewd idea to kick off the collection with Duke of Marlborough’s fanfare, for the outstanding blend and rich sonority of this orchestra’s magnificent brass section really make one sit up. There follow memorable accounts of the stirring, big-hearted Colonial song (such loving, richly drawn cellos at the start) and the extraordinarily dynamic and inventive English dance, whose headily opulent orchestral palette incorporates a part for organ. (On hearing this amazing piece, Grainger’s friend and colleague, Gabriel Faure, exclaimed: “It’s as if the total population were a-dancing”.) Shepherd’s hey has all the sparkle and exuberance you could wish. Green bushes, too, receives a notably propulsive, zestful performance, the BBC PO responding with fine spring and swagger. Another indelible offering comes in the shape of Walking tune, a charming ‘ramble’ originally dreamt up by Grainger whilst on a brief hiking tour through Argyllshire in 1900; Hickox gives us the 1940 version for symphonic wind, conceived for Eugene Goossens and the Cincinnati orchestra.
Of the lesser-known items, I especially warmed to a triptych of “youthful toneworks” inspired by the verse of Rudyard Kipling, namely There were three friends" (1898-9), We were dreamers and Fisher’s boarding house (both 1899). The last-named comprises a particularly captivating six-and-a-half minutes’ worth. In many ways, though, the most arresting music here can be found in the third movement of the In a nutshell. Entitled “Pastoral”, this is an unnerving, darkly intense creation, whose shimmering textures acquire an almost Ivesian complexity in the anguished central portion (play it to your friends and see if they can guess the composer). After this, the bounding vitality of the concluding “‘Gum-suckers’ march” could hardly form a more startling contrast.
Boasting tip-top, irrepressibly vivid Chandos sound, this well-filled CD makes supremely enjoyable listening.– Andrew Achenbach
Performer:
BBC Philharmonic
Richard Hickox, conductor
Track List:
Percy Grainger (1882–1961)
01. 'The Duke of Marlborough' Fanfare
02. Colonial Song
03. English Dance
04. Shepherd's Hey
05. There Were Three Friends
06. Fisher's Boarding-House
07. We Were Dreamers
08. Harvest Hymn
09. Blithe Bells
10. Walking Tune (Symphonic wind band version)
Suite: 'In a Nutshell'
11. I. Arrival Platform Humlet
12. II. Gay but wistful
13. III. Pastoral
14. IV. The 'Gum-suckers' March
15. Green Bushes
Exact Audio Copy V1.5 from 20. February 2020
EAC extraction logfile from 11. May 2022, 23:25
BBC Philharmonic, Richard Hickox / The Grainger Edition, Volume 1 - Orchestral Works 1
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Thanks to the original releaser