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last updated 23 August 2010
What's New for September
Beulah at the Proms
With the 116th Henry Wood Proms season its final two weeks we have listed all the Beulah tracks of works being played at the Proms.
New from Beulah Extra
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Mars the bringer of war
Venus the bringer of peace
Mercury the winged messenger
Jupiter the bringer of jollity
Saturn the bringer of old age
Uranus the magician
Neptune the mystic
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By and large, this recording wins strong commendation - Gramophone September 1928
1st movement
2nd movement
3rd and 4th movements
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"This disc may be recommended as the safest kind of model for anyone who is learning the Eludes Symphoniques, for it is entirely free from idiosyncrasies."Gramophone December 1954
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"If someone were to ask me : 'What is the best Schumann concerto to buy ? ' I think I should name this one first." Gramophone March 1954
"Dame Myra, gives a very sound, admirable performance, with plenty of weight and solidity in the last movement." Gramophone Nov 1954
1st Movement
2nd and 3rd movements
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1. Vyšehrad (The High Castle)
2. Vltava (The Moldau)
3. Šárka
4. Z českých luhů a hájů (From Bohemia's Woods and Fields)
5. Tábor
6. Blaník
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"There are more recent, highly recommendable versions of all this music, but Boult has a special touch in this repertoire, making even Old King Cole well worth hearing: the only other version that I know of that ballet (Richard Hickox, EMI British Composers 5739862) doesn’t manage that quite so effectively. It is at least arguable, too, that this version of Tintagel is preferable to Boult’s own remake on Lyrita ... The recording doesn’t sound new-minted – even in 1955 the Gramophone reviewer commented on the lack of depth to the sound in Old King Cole and suspected that Tintagel did not lend itself to recording – but the mp3 transcription does it justice, sounding much better than the LPs did in 1955, I suspect. The sound-stage has been opened out to the extent that I imagined that some of the tracks were in stereo; they aren’t. The 12 inch LP which contained Tintagel and King Cole cost 36 shillings in 1955 (at least £40 now), so this reissue is a true bargain as well as offering an hour of delight."
1PD40 Ballet by arrangement
The rapid growth of ballet during the first half of the twentieth century enabled music from the eighteenth century no longer heard in the concert hall, to be prsented to modern audiences performed by full orchestras. These and other arrangements of music from an earlier age lead to early music performances to gather momentum in the second half of the twentieth century.
The Wise Virgins (J.S. Bach arr. Willam Walton) [Listen]
The Prospect Before Us (William Boyce Arr. Constant Lambert) [Listen]
The Good Humored Ladies (Domenico Scarlatti Arr. Vincenzo Tommasini) [Listen]
Scuola di ballo (Luigi Boccherini arr. Jean Françaix) [Listen]
Not yet available, please revisit this page later.
Brian Wilson writes at Music Web International:
These works have in common baroque music arranged by 20th-century composers – just the sort of thing for which I have a weak spot – in recordings ranging from 1939 to 1954.
The Gramophone reviewer praised the performance of The Wise Virigns, which remains a model of how to do this sort of thing, equalled only by Bryden Thomson on Chandos – but he thought the recording not one of Decca’s better efforts, which means that Beulah have done a fine job in making it sound more than acceptable.
The Boyce/Lambert The Prospect Before Us was completely unknown to me; it has some claim to be the pick of these recordings. Constant Lambert made a number of recordings of ballet music for HMV in 1939/40, several of which, including the Boyce arrangement, have been released by Somm on SOMMCD080. That Somm release is a very attractive prospect, with excellent transfers – but the same is true of the current Beulah offering, in thin but very acceptable sound.
I have already commented on the Scarlatti and Boccherini arrangements as Beulah Extra downloads, so I’ll content myself with repeating what I wrote last month. Good Humoured Ladies (also available as a download, 1BX17): I really enjoy this kind of confection and I was very pleased to be reminded of this suite from Le Donne di buon Umore, which began life as a skilful arrangement of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti for a Diaghilev ballet. The performance has the kind of panache that is needed in order to bring off the blend of old and new and the recording is still quite acceptable, if a little thin. A friend recently remarked that about 1954 was a sort of watershed for sound that doesn’t remind the listener too much of its age. This is noticeably a little earlier than that watershed, but it’s well worth the modest asking price.
Scuola di Ballo (also available as a download, 1BX14): Ten pieces by Boccherini, arranged for a ballet by Jean Françaix in or before 1933 and performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo under the direction of Dorati, who recorded the music in 1939. I’m normally a great fan of this kind of pastiche, but I must admit to being underwhelmed by the present concoction, though it’s all well played and the transfer is very good for its age."
What the critcis say
2PD17 Van Beinum Conducts Mahler
Symphony No 4[listen]
Margaret Ritchie (Soprano) Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam conducted by Eduard van Beinum
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen[listen]
Eugenia Zareska (mezzo-soprano), London Philahrmonic Orchestra conducted by Eduard van Beinum
"This is an outstandingly successful transfer of the Symphony ...Van Beinum is so elegant and his underlying rhythms are so subtly placed that the booklet's description of the music as 'cheerful, carefree and sunny' is aptly justified. The 58 year old recording still stuns the ear with its powerful impact at the main climax." Anthony Hodgson Classical Record Collector Summer 2010
1PD35 The World of Dennis Brain
Dennis Brain (1921-1957) plays in:
Tchaikovsky - Symphony No 5 - II Andante cantabile, con alcuna licenza[Listen]
Dennis Brain (horn), National Symphony Orchestra conductor Sidney Beer
Mozart - Cosi fan Tutte - Per pieta ben mio[Listen]
Joan Cross (soprano), Dennis Brain (horn), Philharmonia Orchestra conductor Lawrance Collingwood
Beethoven - Horn Sonata in F major Op.17[Listen]
Dennis Brain (horn) Dennis Matthews (piano)
Edward Williams - Open House[Listen]
Natalie James (oboe), Bernard Walton (clarinet), Dennis Brain (horn), Cecil James (bassoon)
Dukas - Villanelle[Listen]
Dennis Brain (horn), Gerald Moore (piano)
Benjamin Britten - Serenade for tenor, horn and strings[Listen]
Peter Pears (tenor), Dennis Brain (horn), strings of the New Symphony Orchestra of London, conductor Sir Eugene Goossens
"Members of the horn loving fraternity will rush to this CD, which is also recommended to general music lovers...Throughout these are all superb performances." Robert Matthew-Walker Classical Record Collector Summer 2010
1PD82 English Wind Band Classics
Gustav Holst
Suites Nos 1 and 2 Op 28 [Listen]
Hammersmith* [Listen]
Ralph Vaughan Williams
English Folksong Suite [Listen]
Toccata Marziale [Listen]
Gordon Jacob
William Byrd Suite for Symphonic Band* [Listen]
"This is a mandatory purchase for nostalgics but has much to say to new listeners as well. "Frederick Fennell (1914- 2004) was the doyen of the windband movement and these recordings are emblematic of the best performance and recording practice in the 1950s and for many years after. They will put even the finest hi-fi through its paces whether in the thunder and crump of the percussion, the suede and velvet croon of the horns or the saw-toothed bite of the finale of the Holst Second Suite. Fennell keeps the pressure on the tempo throughout but is also partial to the evolutionary bloom of the middle movement. In the penultimate movement Fennell's open-mindedness shows through in the joyous use of the anvil to adumbrate the rhythm. Mistily impressionistic, Hammersmith is a tone poem in textures, adventurously probed Ivesian tonality and atmosphere. It has more in common with Holst's orchestral Egdon Heath than with the suites. The perky irrepressible Folksong Suite by Holst's friend RVW takes us back to the bustle and poetic language of Holst suites." - Rob Barnett at Music Web International
The following reviews are from Brian Wilson's monthy Download reviews at Music Web International
Luigi BOCCHERINI (1743-1805) Minuet (arr. from String Quintet in E, Op.11/5)
Paris Conservatoire Orchestra/Felix Weingartner rec.1939. Mono/ADD
BEULAH EXTRA 2BX36 [3:16]
The Boccherini remains what the Gramophone reviewer in 1940 described as ‘a splendid example of how to do a simple thing perfectly’.
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Symphony No.39 in E-flat, K453
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Felix Weingartner rec. 1928. Mono/ADD
BEULAH EXTRA 3BX36 to 5BX36 [3 tracks: 24:45]
Weingartner enthusiasts frequently cite this as their favourite recording by the maestro. It certainly remains very viable - a most affectionate performance, but the recording requires a great deal of tolerance.
1st movement
2nd movement
3rd and 4th movements
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Myra Hess; Philharmonia Orchestra/Rudolf Schwarz rec. 1952. Mono/ADD
BEULAH EXTRA 2BX175 AND 3Bx175 [32:18]
Études Symphoniques
Myra Hess rec.1953. Mono/ADD
BEULAH EXTRA 1BX175 [26:18]
Dame Myra Hess’s Schuman makes a most welcome reappearance in the composer’s anniversary year... The piano tone is a trifle hard in the Études, but fully acceptable throughout. These are performances to live with rather than to marvel at. The performance of the concerto was deemed in 1954 to be the best available at that date on LP; though there have been many distinguished competitors, it remains one of the best.
Etudes
Piano Concerto 1st movement
Piano Concerto 2nd and 3rd movements
Modest MUSSORGSKY (1839-1881) Pictures from an Exhibition (1874) orchestrated Maurice RAVEL) (1922)
London Philharmonic Orchestra/Ernest Ansermet rec. October 1947 and June 1948. Mono/ADD
BEULAH EXTRA 8BX68 [32:47]
The performance was well worth reviving. The LPO offer better playing than Ansermet’s own Suisse Romande Orchestra on the later versions.
Gustav HOLST (1874-1934) The Planets (H125)
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Malcolm Sargent rec. 1954. Mono/ADD.
BEULAH EXTRA 10BX13-16BX13 [7 tracks: 47:34]
This welcome Beulah release recalls the time, for most of the 1950s and well into the 1960s, when the choice for a recording of The Planets was between Boult (Nixa and later EMI versions) and Sargent (this Decca recording, from LXT2871, and later EMI versions). Beulah already offer Boult’s 1945 recording (2PD12). Sargent has fallen by the way, with the most recent Classics for Pleasure issue apparently deleted, so this release of his 1954 recording is very welcome. There’s little to choose between the two great interpreters of this music...and the recording still sounds well in this transfer. The 1954 review especially complimented the fade-out at the end; though this has since been attained routinely with more recent recording techniques, it remains a notable achievement for its time.
Mars
Venus
Mercury
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
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