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Discussion: Stanford: Songs of the Sea - Hickox

Posts: 12
Page: 1 2 next

Post by terence June 5, 2006 (1 of 12)
classical CD of the week in yesterday's sunday times uk, as follows:

"Outside the repertoire of our cathedral and college choirs, and a handful of songs, the music of Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) has fallen into disuse. This attractive disc sandwiches one of his most successful (and, at the time, popular) secular choral compositions, The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet, between two orchestral cycles for baritone and chorus, Songs of the Sea, Op 91, and its “sequel”, Songs of the Fleet. The former opens with one of Stanford’s enduring hits, Drake’s Drum, and the entire cycle resounds with the composer’s jaunty, clean-cut-public-schoolboy patriotism, which has more than period charm when sung with such gusto and style by Gerald Finley and the thrilling Welsh Chorus. Occasionally, one might smirk at Henry Newbolt’s verse — “There are queer things that only come to sailormen” might raise titters at the Proms today — but the Songs of the Fleet encapsulate a sort of spiritual nationalism that can certainly move when performed with the commitment that Finley and Hickox display here".

no mention at all of the SACD layer, of course - when is there in the UK press?! but this nonetheless sounds worth investigating.

Post by Jonty June 5, 2006 (2 of 12)
I have had this for a couple of weeks. Terrific performances. Finley sings beautifully. The old recording with Luxon has been put on the pile for selling. On my system the recording is streets ahead of the Elgar 2. Sumptuous and very well balanced. Listening to Finley and Hickox perform the Vaughan Williams Sea symphony on Sunday evening with the LSO in the Barbican I felt the that balance here reflected the balance I heard in that hall given the huge differences in acoustic and so on. The Gramophone likes the disc too but then perhaps that is no longer a recommendation.

Post by nickc June 6, 2006 (3 of 12)
Jonty said:

I have had this for a couple of weeks. Terrific performances. Finley sings beautifully. The old recording with Luxon has been put on the pile for selling. On my system the recording is streets ahead of the Elgar 2. Sumptuous and very well balanced. Listening to Finley and Hickox perform the Vaughan Williams Sea symphony on Sunday evening with the LSO in the Barbican I felt the that balance here reflected the balance I heard in that hall given the huge differences in acoustic and so on. The Gramophone likes the disc too but then perhaps that is no longer a recommendation.

Hi Jonty
what is the sound actually like live in the Barbican? I'm about to review the LSO Live Kullervo and I find it drier than an Australian summer and almost unlistenable.
Nick

Post by terence June 6, 2006 (4 of 12)
my recollections of concerts in the barbican support your assessment.

as for the CDs, well.... - they are stuffy, desiccated, airless, and boxy on my system, and i don't enjoy listening to them.

a pity - there are some great performances on LSO live (haitink's beethoven), although some are ruined by davis grunting.

Post by terence June 6, 2006 (5 of 12)
Jonty said:

The Gramophone likes the disc too but then perhaps that is no longer a recommendation.

i fear you are right. i rarely take their views seriously nowadays - they get things badly wrong in both directions (praise/criticism), and don't appear to have heard of SACDs, let alone bother to listen to them.

Post by nickc June 6, 2006 (6 of 12)
terence said:

i fear you are right. i rarely take their views seriously nowadays - they get things badly wrong in both directions (praise/criticism), and don't appear to have heard of SACDs, let alone bother to listen to them.

4 out of the 10 discs of the month of July are SACDs (one of them being this Stanford disc) but who knows if they'll mention that!

Post by Jonty June 6, 2006 (7 of 12)
nickc said:

Hi Jonty
what is the sound actually like live in the Barbican? I'm about to review the LSO Live Kullervo and I find it drier than an Australian summer and almost unlistenable.
Nick

The sound live is great detail and impact if you are sitting in the right spot. I tend to prefer centre towards the back of the stalls. Off centre in the side blocks can miss this rather 'in your face' quality. The refurbishment done a few years ago greatly helped. It has always sounded better than the records would suggest. On Sunday with the orchestra sat further forward than usual to accomodate the choir behind and I thought there was an added warmth. I have noticed this before but this layout can't be the used for ordinary concerts as seats are lost. Perhaps this is why I have tended to like the LSO Live opera sets sound to the purely symphonic ones. The hall does not have a long reveration time at all but it still better than the Festival Hall.

Conductors seem to make a noticable difference in this hall. More than, say, in the Festival Hall. Hickox and Gardiner have produced a beauitful warm sound. Davis is a little leaner and Geriev leaner still. I had booked of all of the Gergiev Prokofiev cycle but didn't last the distance as I felt he missed some of the quirky quality of the composer. Actually I thought his approach was better suited to Shostakovitch. The sound was far too lean and screamy for Prokofiev and became very wearing. It will be interesting to see how one's reaction changes when hearing the discs. Perhaps Gergiev will leaner how to temper his approach to the hall in time.

Post by terence June 6, 2006 (8 of 12)
nickc said:

4 out of the 10 discs of the month of July are SACDs (one of them being this Stanford disc) but who knows if they'll mention that!

they won't. they never do.

Post by Peter June 6, 2006 (9 of 12)
Jonty said:

The sound live is great detail and impact if you are sitting in the right spot. I tend to prefer centre towards the back of the stalls. Off centre in the side blocks can miss this rather 'in your face' quality.

Thanks for the tip; I'll give it a try. My problem with the Barbican is never having found an easy way to get to the concert hall using public transport as it's quite a walk from the tube or nearest bus stops. Years ago you could buy a coach ticket to get back to Waterloo after the concert.

The VW got a good review in The Times today, the Elgar cello concerto less so.

Post by Jonty June 6, 2006 (10 of 12)
Peter said:

Thanks for the tip; I'll give it a try. My problem with the Barbican is never having found an easy way to get to the concert hall using public transport as it's quite a walk from the tube or nearest bus stops. Years ago you could buy a coach ticket to get back to Waterloo after the concert.

The VW got a good review in The Times today, the Elgar cello concerto less so.

The Elgar was rather uninvolving. Hilary Finch lies Susan Gritton rather more than I did. I think I still have Isobel Baillie in my head from Boult's first recording. Although, I should add that Ms Grittton was a very good Marenka in the Bartered Bride at the Royal Opera last January. The swell of the in the open movement of the symphony was amazing. I assume that Chandos is to take it into the recording studio and I look forward to the SACD.

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