"These works are like rare stones. You have to find them but once found they shine brilliantly." - Joanna Kurkowicz

This is Volume 2 in Chandos’ series devoted to the published violin concertos of Grazyna Bacewicz who was regarded by Witold Lutoslawski as ‘a distinguished Polish composer of the twentieth century and one of the foremost women composers of all time’. Bridging the gap between the neo-romanticism of Karol Szymanowski and the modernism of Witold Lutoslawski, she deserves much wider recognition than she has received to date outside her native Poland.

MENDELSSOHN Paulus • Richard Hickox, cond; Susan Gritton (sop); Jean Rigby (mez); Barry Banks (ten); Peter Coleman-Wright (bs); BBC Natl O & Ch, Wales • CHANDOS 10516 (2 CDs: 115:13 Text and Translation)


This is a rerun from 2001 on Chandos’ “Classics” series. James Miller reviewed it in Fanfare 25:1. I will refer readers to his review for more of the details of this production. Miller seems to prefer the Masur reading, not available then but reproduced now as an arkivmusic.com CD. Masur certainly deserves respect, and his cast is nothing to sneeze at, but I have come to prefer the Rilling recording on Hänssler to just about any other. His soloists, while less stellar than Masur’s, are every bit their equal, and Rilling gives us a highly charged, gorgeously sung performance of just about unequalled beauty.


Paulus only has about 10 readings currently available, and has been suffering from the equivalent of professional swine flu for many years—not many want to touch it. Soloists are certainly hard to come by, as the parts are just not that demanding. But—this oratorio is guaranteed a bright future as it remains, after Messiah , perhaps the most popular oratorio among American church goers and oratorio societies. The very lack of demanding solo parts makes it attractive to local ensembles, and the choral work is adventurous, yet attainable by lesser ensembles. Mendelssohn’s part-writing is easy to follow and logical to rehearse and teach, and he manages to get a consistently whopping sound out of his chorus while keeping well within the confines of the eminently doable.


Miller says about this Hickox rendition, “I can certainly commend it to your attention as a worthy performance, probably at least as good as the competition.” I think this sums up the recording very well. In a detailed comparison with the Rilling, Hickox is actually about nine minutes faster in each part, though Rilling sounds quicker because of a tighter control over the ensemble and a tauter rhythmic approach. He also is more devotional, perhaps too devotional in some instances, while the Chandos recording delights in the early-Wagnerian overtones found in some of the brassier moments. The more I hear the Chandos, the more I like it, and I am finding the differences between Rilling and Hickox interesting enough to appreciate both equally, and it is difficult to choose one above the other.


Okay—if forced—I would still go for Rilling, but every collection deserves two recordings of Paulus , so I can rest content. As for Masur, he is still worth hearing, and many will prefer him, but not by much. Though there are not many recordings of this early oratorio, these three alleviate any need for concern.


Incidentally, in James Miller’s review he states: “‘Wie lieblich sind die Boten die den Frieden verkündigen’ is usually translated as ‘How beautiful are the messengers that bring the gospel of peace.’ In the Masur (Philips) libretto (and some other places) it is rendered, ‘How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,’ which is, in fact, the way the verse goes in the King James version of the Bible (Romans X:15). But ‘Boten’ means ‘messengers’ in German. Did the King James translators get the original text wrong or did Martin Luther or other German translators get it wrong?” In the Chandos issue, “messengers” is given in the translation. After nine years, I think I can help—Luther got it wrong. The word pódeV (“feet”) appears not only in Romans 10, but also in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament in Isaiah and the book of Nahum, the books from which Paul took his quote. I can’t vouch for the Hebrew, but Paul would have taken his quote from a Septuagint source (the Greek translation of the Old Testament).


FANFARE: Steven E. Ritter

Classical Music

Two caveats for prospective customers: One is that Earl Wild makes the once-standard "traditional" cuts in the finale of the Third Concerto; second is that these classic 1965 performances also are available on the Chesky label in less brilliant but more naturally equalized transfers, albeit spread across three full-priced discs. Chandos, however, offers the better bargain. More importantly, Wild is in dazzling form throughout. You'll rarely hear the First and Fourth Concertos sparkle with equal panache and rhythmic acuity, while the pianist's fusion of poetry and flair add up to a Paganini Rhapsody that leaves just about all stereo versions behind. Jascha Horenstein's incisive, colorful support is a major asset, and the Royal Philharmonic plays beautifully for him. If you don't mind the Third Concerto cuts (or already have Martha Argerich's landmark third), these classic performances only get better with age, and the sonics are still terrific. Go for it, piano fans! --Jed Distler

GRAINGER: Grainger Edition, Vol. 19: Works for Solo Piano,

The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen takes its name from the original ensemble that gave London’s first public concerts, from 1678, and which continued to meet well into the middle of the eighteenth century. The members of the group are leading figures on the period instrument scene in the UK and Europe, offering programmes that draw on recent and original research. They have been described on BBC Radio 3 as ‘purveyors of exhilarating and uplifting music.’ The baroque ensemble here commits to record unjustly neglected concertos by Josef Guretzky, rich in Italian-influenced virtuosity and dynamism, yet highly innovative in the contrast of rhythms and forms. The album features the premiere recording of four of Guretzky’s nine cello concertos as well as Guretzky’s only surviving Violin Concerto. They are complemented by a contemporaneous keyboard fugue by another Czech master of the baroque era, Bohuslav Matej Cernohorsky.

The celebrated Contemporaries of Mozart series continues apace with the compositions of German composer George Joseph Vogler. The London Mozart Players which celebrates their 60th anniversary in 2009 perform under the direction of Matthias Bamert. Also known as Abbé Vogler, Vogler was idealized in Robert Browning's poem 'Abt Vogler', with its subtitle 'After he has been extemporizing upon the musical instrument of his invention.' In his own day, Vogler was indeed famous for his improvisations. He was also a celebrated teacher, whose pupils included Weber and Meyerbeer; but he seems to have had little renown as a composer, that is, until now. Vogler was born near Würzburg in 1749, the son of a violinist and instrument maker. After studying at Würzburg University, he moved to Bamberg for three years of religious instruction: hence the references to Abbé. In the early 1770s he was appointed almoner, then chaplain, to the court at Mannheim. By 1775 he was appointed the vice-Kapellmeister. Mannheim was the home of a flourishing musical establishment, and the court orchestra had an international reputation: Vogler's colleagues included Christian Cannabich. He would later hold the position of court music director at Stockholm (1786-89) and at Darmstadt (1807-14). The scope of Vogler's musical accomplishment, encompassing sacred vocal works, operas, instrumental ensemble pieces and solo keyboard music, challenges generalization. The surviving symphonies and concertos by Vogler reveal polished craftsmanship and a flair for orchestral colour. He was fond of highlighting wind instruments, and the use of two pairs of horns in complementary keys is a trademark. All the works which here receive their first recording reflect this approach. Although relatively few of Vogler's works achieved wide public recognition, various works were performed in concerts well into the 19th century, and Robert Schumann praised Vogler's music as late as 1838. Recent Contemporaries of Mozart releases: CHAN 10379: Christian Cannabich CHAN 10496 Leopold Mozart CHAN 10458 John Marsh

Johan Halvorsen spent most of his career writing for the theater, which is probably why his music sounds so effortless, colorful, and well, efficient. This isn't meant to be disparaging. Rather, all of these pieces get right to the point, and none outstays its welcome, not even the Second Symphony, which clocks in at a bit under half an hour. It's conservative, harmonically and formally, but the music really works--it's a pleasure from beginning to end, and wholly convincing. This performance also is the first to correct the zillion errors in the printed score that have gone a long way to preventing the work from entering the repertoire, where it surely belongs.

The other pieces are all, in one way or another, ostensibly Norwegian in sound in a manner quite similar to Grieg. Again, there's nothing wrong with that. What sane person dislikes Grieg? The Suite ancienne, to the memory of Holberg, has every bit as much charm and freshness as Grieg's Holberg Suite, while the other three pieces all feature solo violin. Marianne Thorsen plays splendidly, while Neeme Järvi leads his Bergen forces in performances that are graceful, vibrant, and in the Suite and the Symphony, the last word in impetuosity and excitement. With terrific sound, if you don't know this music, you're missing something special.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

This disc received the 2004 Gramophone magazine award for "Best of Category (Orchestral)."
This special edition box set includes a bonus CD of interviews between Vernon Handley and Andrew McGregor about Bax's symphonies.

At last a version of this legendary work for pleasure, analysis and study.

I am normally something of a 'completist' when it comes to music. And that includes works that may not necessarily reflect a composer at his or her best. If Bloggs wrote 101 songs then, if at all possible there should be at least one fair recording made of each – if for no other reason than to provide context. The best can then be compared to the not so good and can be seen to shine. Ivor Gurney may be an exception to this rule: there is much debate about his ‘unplayable and un-publishable’ songs and chamber works yet many folk want to give these an airing - even if it means damaging the composer’s reputation. Imagine a neophyte finds a CD of Bloggs’s Unknown Songs. Further, imagine that they are not very good. Could this put our friend off not only Bloggs but also English lieder? Perhaps they would be best left un-played and unrecorded? Other issues arise, such as the composer’s intentions. Did they regard these pieces as worthy? Or did they suppress them? This argument has surfaced with the repristination of the early music - which had been believed destroyed - by William Alwyn and suppressed works by RVW. I hasten to add that I am grateful for these CDs and have especially enjoyed hearing the former’s tone-poem Blackdown and the latter’s Heroic Elegy.

Let us turn to The Crown of India. Most Elgar enthusiasts will know the Suite derived from this ‘Imperial Masque’. It has been issued in a number of recordings over the years, including a fine version from Chandos with the Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Sir Alexander Gibson. The March of the Moguls has also been a popular extract. However, up until this present CD, it has not been possible to hear the complete work in its original format. The question is: is this a worthwhile project?

Firstly let’s dispose of the anti-Imperial argument. There are two (at least) approaches to history. One is, I guess relative and the other is absolute. Some people will refuse to give any credence to an historical personage if they were involved in any activity that is now regarded as politically incorrect, even if it was not always regarded in this light. Men like Cecil Rhodes and Clive of India are despised or at best belittled by ‘liberal’ society. Yet, surely it should be possible to admire the achievement of a woman or a man who did much good work with their involvement in world affairs. Obviously parts of their careers can be justly criticised, but the person themselves cannot be separated from their milieu. Few people in the world are truly forward-thinking: most of us, both living and dead are and were children of our time.

I can hear people condemning this present work as jingoistic - as imperial nonsense. It is a work that sets the British Empire up against the people of India. As such it could be argued that it should be consigned to the dustbin of musical history. We no longer think in terms of Britain Ruling the Waves (except at The Last Night) nor do we necessarily regard the British way of life as being something that must be imposed on other cultures. Things, perhaps, work the other way round these days. So can we justify listening to and perhaps even enjoying this Masque? Only if we can enter the historical setting in our mind’s ear without too many feelings of guilt! However, we ought to judge this work - or any work - on its musical and literary merits rather than its political and cultural resonances down through the years.

The Crown of India is a masque that was written and performed in 1912 to celebrate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Delhi. This was part of a ‘durbar’ in that city as part of the celebrations for their coronation as the Emperor and Empress of India. The masque was commissioned by a certain Oswald Stoll and combined a libretto by Henry Hamilton and the music of Edward Elgar. The work was given its first performance at the Coliseum Theatre in London on 11 March 1912. The masque ran for two performances a day for two weeks. At that time the Coliseum was a variety theatre rather than the opera house we know today. Ironically, Diana McVeagh points out that Elgar’s music was performed alongside a programme that included “gymnastic equilibrists, a ventriloquist, a Russian harpist, a scene from Barrie’s The Twelve Pound Look, continental mimes, with the Tannhauser Overture as interval music.” It must have been quite an evening!

The work was conceived in two tableaux, separated by an interlude: it is made up of a dozen pieces or scenes. The first tableau is entitled ‘The Cities of India’ and the second ‘Ave Imperator’. The format called for the personification of ‘India’ and the cities of Agra, Delhi, Calcutta and Benares and also England (not the United Kingdom) by St. George. The chorus consisted of a cast of thousands including Mogul Emperors, Princes, Guards, Executioners, Courtiers, Fan-Bearers, Ladies Attendant Syce (grooms), Litter Bearers, Heralds, and Trumpeters. The work is scored for contralto, bass, chorus and orchestra. However it was not conceived for a symphony orchestra as such but a typical theatre ‘pit’ band of the era although it was considerably ‘augmented’.

It will be helpful to note the tableaux in a slightly simplified list:-

1(a) - Introduction, and (b) Sacred Measure
2 - Dance of the Nautch Girls
2(a) – India greets her cities
3 - Hail, Immemorial Ind! (The Homage of Ind)
4 - March of the Mogul Emperors
5 - Entrance of John Company
6 - Rule of England (St. George’s Song)
7 - Interlude
8 - Warriors' Dance
9 - Cities of India
10 - Crown of India March
11 - Crowning of Delhi
12 - Ave Imperator

In the first tableau the cities of Calcutta and Delhi, personified by the two speakers, plead to be made India’s capital city. In the second, the Emperor rather diplomatically resolves the contention. He states that “… Delhi to be his capital names, And of his Empire, further makes decree, Calcutta shall the premier city be”.

Percy Young has noted that in the early months of 1912 Elgar had moved into Severn House and was conscious “not only of its nobility but also its expense.” So it is fair to say that the commission came at the right time and contributed to the finances.

It is important not to be too critical about the text of the masque. It is easy to write off Henry Hamilton’s libretto as ‘doggerel’ but it was very much a period piece: it is what would have been expected at the time. However, the composer was not overly impressed with the political tone of the words but was able to see the possibilities it presented for producing a colourful score. Elgar was able to cut a number of the worst parts of the text and began composing the music and falling back on mining some earlier works and sketches as he did so. Music rescued from The Sanguine Fan, Falstaff and the Apostles has been identified.

So what are we to make, musically at least, of this massive period piece? Percy Young in his 1955 study of the composer has captured its mood. He writes that “despite the skilful spread of motive, there is no genuine consistency in The Crown of India, but vivid flashes of imaginative treatment, combined with instances of tenderness and charm.” It is a judgement that holds well today.

The make-weights on the second CD are useful additions to the catalogue of Elgar’s imperial, or less pejoratively, his ceremonial music. The Imperial March Op.32 was composed in 1896-7 and was the composer’s first essay in this genre. It was commissioned by Novellos to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. At the same time Elgar also received a commission to write The Banner of St George. The Imperial March received its first performance at a Crystal Place concert on 19 April of the same year. Interestingly, this piece is more in the style of what Eric Coates was to compose some quarter of a century later. There is no great pretence at writing profound music – instead it has a tune that has “a spring in its step, and a sunny dance-like trio”. Elgar was not the first to compose this kind of March. Parry had written a fine example in his incidental music for Hypatia. It was however his first essay in what was to become a long line of ceremonial marches. Diana McVeagh notes that it was the Imperial March that “first carried his name throughout the land”.

The Coronation March Op. 65 is a totally different piece. Gone is the light-heartedness of the earlier piece, to be replaced by music that has a depth of emotion and variety of mood that is rare in a work of its genre. The March was a ‘laureate’ work commissioned for the Coronation of King George V in 1911. It has been well said that the composer is mourning the death of the old King rather than cheering the accession of the new. In many ways it has the air of a funeral march rather than a rumbustious paean of welcome for the monarch. I have no doubt that this is one of the best marches that Elgar wrote – or anyone else for that matter. One strange fact associated with this piece is the fact the composer had already written the main opening theme for a projected ballet based on the tales of Rabelais! It is assumed that he abandoned this project because of Victorian prudery and pressure from his wife Alice.

I have always had a soft spot for the Empire March even if it is not the best of the bunch. This work was composed in 1924 to inaugurate the British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley in that year. It is interesting, if somewhat poignant, that this is one of the very few works to be completed after the death of Alice in 1920. The Elgar Society webpage suggests that “it is but a pale shadow of his earlier marches, lacking the distinctiveness and decisiveness of melody which so characterised his more successful marches …” Yet there is an interest in these pages and a certain backward glance to happier times.

I am not quite sure why Chandos have chosen to give two versions of The Crown of India – one with the spoken text and one without. I would have thought that a single version would have sufficed for what is a very uneven work. However, if it had been a single CD, there would have been no room for the three Marches. Furthermore, I doubt if this work will receive many concert performances, in spite of the fact that the Elgar Society have just published the full score. I imagine that if it is performed it will be in the edited version.

All this being said, and I have not really made my mind up about this piece yet, this CD is a must for all Elgar cognoscenti even if they are, like me, not over-enthusiastic about the main event. I enjoyed some of this music. I certainly enjoyed the fine performances by Sir Andrew Davis, the soloists and speakers and the BBC Philharmonic. I appreciate the amount of work that Anthony Payne has invested in this project to realise the score. But was it worth it? I will probably not listen to this work again but I will occasionally play The Crown of India Suite. However, it is important to know that a version of this legendary work is available for pleasure, analysis and study. The amount of effort that has been required to realise this masque may seem to some a little excessive and perhaps misdirected.

Perhaps the project can best be summed up in two quotations from the sleeve-notes. The first is from Nalini Ghuman: “( The Crown of India is) a fascinating work of imperialism: historically illuminating and often musically rich, it is nevertheless a profoundly embarrassing piece - a significant contribution to the orientalised India of the English imagination.” And the second is written by Andrew Neill. He concludes his essay by suggesting that ‘although Elgar’s subject is now out of fashion we can hear how, despite its tendentious nature and poor quality, Elgar rises above Hamilton’s text with colourful music of great variety … it may not be India, but it is Elgar, who did this sort of thing better than anyone else.”

-- John France, MusicWeb International

This is the first disc in Chandos' exciting new Weinberg Symphonies series. Weinberg was one of the most prolific and inventive creative figures of the twentieth century. The reason for the neglect of his music is largely political, for Weinberg, as a bourgeois Jew, suffered under both Nazism and Soviet Communism. It is only since the barriers between the Soviet Union and the West have been lowered, that scholars worldwide are realizing the importance of Weinberg's legacy. Recorded in: Grzegorz Fitelberg Concert Hall, Katowice, Poland 3-7 March 2003 Producer(s) Beata Jankowska Sound Engineer(s) Beata Jankowska

Howard Shelley and the London Mozart Players, one of the UK's most distinguished chamber orchestras, have recorded many works by Hummel. Chandos has been renowned for championing Hummel's music since the premiere recordings of his piano concertos in 1987 received the Gramophone 'concerto' award. The company's exposure of this increasingly admired composer has ensured that he is finally beginning to enjoy the popularity he deserves. 'Shelley...is outstanding in this music, synthesizing the classical and romantic elements perfectly. A natural Mozartian, he allies his poise and clarity to a fearless technique, and absorbs Hummel's most ostentatious demands into the musical fabric, giving the decorative solo part the necessary grace and piquancy.' - Gramophone 'Critics Choice' of January 2000 on CHAN9867 (Hummel)

Chandos has much pleasure in announcing the release of The Film Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams Collector's Edition conducted by Rumon Gamba as part of the highly successful Chandos Movies label. This collection will appeal to film music buffs and Vaughan Williams fans alike. Vaughan Williams's film music ranks as some of the very finest ever written, and this CD set contains excellent examples, many which prior to the original release had never been recorded before, including extended suites of Scott of the Antarctic, 49th Parallel and The England of Elizabeth. This is the first time that the three volumes have been made available at 3 for the price of 2 CDs and they are brought together in stylish high-quality packaging.

The Russian composer, conductor and pianist Arensky was a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov at St Petersburg Concervatory and later taught at the Moscow Conservatory, where his pupils included Rachmaninov and Scriabin. His music is an ecclectic blend of Russian idiom and late romantic tradition. Vassily Sinaisky is a master of this repertoire and has made a string of recordings of Russian music with the BBC Philharmonic, all of which have received tremendous critical acclaim. Recorded in: New Broadcasting House, Manchester 9-11 April 2002 Producer(s) Brian Pidgeon (Executive) Mike George (Recording) Sound Engineer(s) Stephen Rinker

Also featuring the BBC National Chorus of Wales is several selections.

Brian Easdale was a prolific composer whose extensive output covered most genres, from orchestral pieces, concertos, and choral works, including a mass for the new Coventry Cathedral, to chamber compositions. However Easdale is today most well-known for his film scores, particularly The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus

Part of Chandos’ film music series with Rumon Gamba, the works on this release showcase Easdale’s career in film with music from, among others, The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, and The Battle of the River Plate.

In his youth, Easdale attended the Royal College of Music, where he studied composition with such prominent figures as Cecil Armstrong Gibbs and Gordon Jacob, conducting with Malcolm Sargent, and organ with Arnold Goldsborough. As a jobbing musician he undertook arranging projects, working most notably on such scores by Benjamin Britten as the Soirées musicales and the Piano Concerto. He also orchestrated Britten’s On the Frontier for a production at the Arts Theatre in Cambridge in 1939, before spending much of the war in Ceylon and India working on documentaries for their governments’ film units. Returning to Britain in 1946, he was invited by the masterful film making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers, to write an exotic dance for Jean Simmons to perform in their forthcoming film, Black Narcissus, and ended up composing the whole score. The film is a veritable masterpiece of melodrama with highly dramatic music to match.

The involvement of Easdale in Black Narcissus effectively launched his career in film music and led him to other projects, most notably The Red Shoes (1948) for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score. This is one of the most iconoclastic films in the Pantheon of British Cinema. Given a highly atmospheric score, the film concerns a traveling ballet company and tells the story of a young hopeful ballerina, catapulted into stardom and wrestling with her love for a composer and the pull of her career. In the end it becomes too much of a fight and while on tour with the company in Monte Carlo, she leaps to her death.

The Battle of the River Plate (1956) is also worth a separate mention. A semi-documentary account of the trapping of the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in Montevideo harbour, and her subsequent scuttling, the film was commercially very successful. The two movements recorded here are the Prelude (heard over the main titles and opening scene with narration) and a March, the concert version of which was created by Easdale after the film’s release.