Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 / Hickox, LSO

$22.99
Label
Chandos
Release Date
January 1, 1999
Format
Added to Cart! View cart or continue shopping.


    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      VAUGHAN WILLIAMS GLATZ CHURC
    • PERFORMER
      Ian, Hic, Carys, Watson, Richard, Lane, Richard Hickox Singers, Hickox
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      January 01, 1999
    • UPC
      095115966624
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      CHAN 9666
    • LABEL
      Chandos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. Valiant for Truth

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    2. I. Preludio: Moderato

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    3. II. Scherzo: Presto misterioso

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    4. III. Romanza: Lento

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    5. IV. Passacaglia: Moderato

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    6. The Pilgrim Pavement

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Performer: Carys Lane, Ian Watson

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    7. Hymn Tune Prelude on Song 13 by Orlando Gibbons (arr. for string orchestra)

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    8. The Pilgrim's Progress: The Twenty-third Psalm (arr. for soprano and chorus)

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Performer: Carys Lane

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    9. Prelude

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Malcolm Hicks

      Conductor: Richard Hickox

    10. Fugue

      Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

      Ensemble: London Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Malcolm Hicks

      Conductor: Richard Hickox


This volume of Richard Hickox's ongoing series of recordings of the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams gathers some of the composer's works related to his opera 'The Pilgrim's Progress.' The opening work has an obvious connection, as a setting of a speech of one of John Bunyan's characters. The disc's centerpiece, the Fifth Symphony, was begun in 1938 using themes from the opera, which Vaughan Williams feared might not be performed. The remaining semi-religious works are in somewhat the same spiritual vein.
Although the entire program is well-performed, the Symphony stands out beyond mere length. Hickox and the London Symphony play their hearts out, bringing some of Vaughan William's best music to exquisite life. The stunningly beautiful Romanza and final Passacaglia alone make this disc well worth the price. Add three premiere recordings (including "The Pilgrim Pavement," composed for the Dedication of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City) and vivid recording, and the result--like the discs which preceded it--is no less than essential.