| Review by Livy April 27, 2007 (11 of 11 found this review helpful)
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Recorded at the Woodruff Center, Atlanta, GA in 2006. DSD recording.
With the release of this disc, Telarc may have just produced one of its all-time great-selling SACD's. To start with, the program presented is four quite enjoyable works from a composer whose music appeals to almost everyone, including those who aren't classical music aficionados. Second, the performances themselves are great! Starting with the original Thomas Tallis choral work used by RVW in the Tallis Fantasia, the subsequent performance of the piece is just awesome. Spano isn't trying to fulfill any preconceived notions about tempi or vibrato - he's just letting what has become a world-class orchestra play this work as it should sound. Symphony 5 is equally remarkable for its clarity and the avoidance of mannerism. Paced well, played well, the Serenade to Music is sung well, and the recording? Like a bottle of Macallan 18 - very, very impressive on your first go-around and practically every time thereafter. Deep bass, smooth strings, great clarity with warmth, and clearly distinguishable separation of the second orchestra, which is evident in both the right front and right surround channels. My only critique, and it is a really minor one, is that I felt there was a slight overuse of the rear-channels at certain points. Notwithstanding Chandos' sonics in the Hickox' RVW cycle, I would think Telarc now has a strong case to make for having produced the best-sounding RVW on SACD (perhaps on anything, CD or otherwise...).
This is the kind of disc whose program will appeal to many on this forum and elsewhere. People here will most likely enjoy the performances and almost certainly the multi-channel sound.
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| Review by Edvin April 28, 2007 (5 of 6 found this review helpful)
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It is a very good idea to start this SACD with the theme by Tallis that Vaughan Williams based his fantasy on. It´s only a minute long but very beautiful indeed.
Let me first say that I didn´t care much for Spano´s performance of the Sea Symphony. I found it lacking in breadth and vastness. Also he phrased the tunes rather unimaginatively, I think. This is much better and I was actually surprised by the quality of the interpretations.
There is no way you can make the Tallis fantasy sound dull or wrong. The music in itself is so wonderful that a few interpretative quirks don´t really matter. No such quirks here though. On the contrary, this is a very straight reading with some lovely playing. Spano knows the piece and the orchestra responds nicely. A nice performance with a vision. Maybe a bit more tension in the phrasing would be welcome and the climax could do with a bit more power. There should be some sense of struggle between the soloists and the rest at some points. But overall a satisfying performance.
The symphony is desert island material for me. At first I thought Spano was a bit careful, but I was soon won over by his tender treatment. Spano sees this as a purely lyrical piece with little or no conflict. Fine by me, and it is not until the finale we get some sparks. The Preludio is beatifully crafted and the playing mostly excellent. The Atlanta Symphony is not the BPO though, and not the equal of the better British orchestras either. They make a pleasant sound and I´m not really complaining, because this is so much better than I expected.
The Scherzo is fleet of foot with Vaughan Williams´ contrasting rhythms in three and two perfectly judged.
The heart of the symphony is the Romanza, the wondrous slow movement. In my opinion it contains some of the most beautiful music ever written and by the sound of it Spano thinks the same. This is so beautiful a performance that my heart melts. The first theme is played by a rather old fashion sounding, reedy English horn and the oboe answers are quite reedy as well. Lovingly played though. Spano phrases the downward melodies with great timing, melodies that sound like huge sighs of longing. The so sensitive ending is wonderfully played, but as I said, this is not LSO.
The finale is great, full of life and accents that makes the music spring to life. And the ending is very beautifully shaped. As a whole this is much better than Hickox. It is warmer, more lovingly played and phrased. There is a total dedication here from both conductor and orchestra that is missing in the Hickox. The latter sounds a bit detached by comparison.
Serenade to Music. Originally written for sixteen vocal soloists and orchestra and a marvel! This is, however, the not so satisfying arrangement for choir, four vocal soloists and orchestra. We are spoiled by two versions of absloute beauty, Boult and Benstein. Boult has better singers and not anyone can match the angelic soars of Norma Burroughs. Jessica Rivera, the soprano here, is good and sensitive, but alas...The baritone Nmon Ford is too pompous and bluff for this music.
The playing in this piece is a bit too insensitive. A certain lack of feeling for the nocturnal shades. But it is very enjoyable. The Boult on EMI is a must have.
The sound on this Telarc is mostly very good. The rears are a bit too loud and I thought the higher violins were slightly edgy. A bit thin sounding and in the Tallis fantasy I wanted a bit more voluptioness, a bigger sound. I don´t usually like the Telarc sound, finding it often too bass heavy and compact. No problem here since there is no bass heavy music on this SACD.
A pleasant surprise and I warmly recommend this SACD.
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| Review by fafnir April 28, 2007 (7 of 10 found this review helpful)
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I purchased this disc only for the two masterpieces - the Tallis Fantasia and the Serenade. In particular, the Serenade is so beautiful it is reputed to have moved Rachmaninoff to tears at its premier. Of the three versions of the score - a dreadful orchestra only, 16 soloists and orchestra, and a solo quartet with small chorus and orchestra - this version with a quartet, small chorus and orchestra seems to me to make the most sense. The recording and performance are both very fine, easily the best I have ever heard. Having a solo quartet spares the listener having to endure the usual gaggle of wobbly-voiced not-ready-for-prime-time soloists.
The Tallis Fantasia is preceded by Tallis's original tune, taking less than a minute, but setting the stage perfectly for VW's Fantasia. This is a master stroke of programming; I've never heard of this being done, perhaps because other recordings do not contain choral music. Once more the recording and performance has hit a home run. The rich mch acoustic provides an ideal frame for the music and the performance seems to me to be on a par with Barbirolli's.
Listening to the VW Symphony No. 5 was famously described by Aaron Copeland as being akin to staring at a cow for 45 minutes. It is probably not as bad as that (in fact I rather like the third movement), but IMO it can be safely recommended as a cure for insomnia. I realize that it has its admirers, particularly across the pond, but what can I say? As much as I like most of VW's Symphonies, this score as well as Sym 7 IMO are second rate. Spano gets what he can from the music; I think it's a better performance than Slatkin's, the only other recording of it that I have. Certainly, the recording is excellent, but I doubt I will ever play it again. I apologize for the curmudgeonly remarks concerning it.
Highly recommended for the Tallis and Serenade, and must-purchase if you admire the Symphony No. 5.
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| Review by Oakland December 7, 2007 (6 of 8 found this review helpful)
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If you love the music you will love this SACD. It’s that simple because there is very little that stands between you and the music. The performances are extremely fine and so too is the recording.
I enjoy the entire disc, but for the sake of brevity and so as not to rehash the well made comments of Livy and Edvin about the other wonderful performances and recordings on this disc I’ll just say a few words about the “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis”.
Like many of us I have more versions than I can count of “Tallis”, which for me, is among the most beautiful compositions in the inventory. This is an eminent masterpiece, in my opinion. But, truth be told, I may have never bought a disc solely for this piece. It is ubiquitous as a “filler”. And here, too, it plays second billing to Symphony No. 5. But I have rarely heard a performance, live (several times) or recorded, that the musicians really screwed it up. There is so much intrinsically beautiful about the music, from beginning to end, that the end product should be “beautiful”, “more beautiful”, or “most beautiful”, variations on "interpretation", not withstanding. I’ll leave it up to the listener as to where they place this reading. I’ll just say that there are no noticeable quirks/surprises in the Spano reading.
Recordings, on the other hand, can vary wildly all over the road. Well, the Telarc/Spano recording is outstanding on all accounts. And this applies to the *entire* disc, not just ‘Tallis”. For example, I think it would be specious quibbling to criticize the strings (the litmus test?) in this recording dominated by strings. The sound staging is about perfect, not at all exaggerated, which at times *can* (I believe unjustly) be a criticism of some Telarc recordings.
Actually, I find horizontal sound staging in most modern classical recordings to be very good. Where I find Telarc excels is portrayal of the orchestra from front to back. It is deep and layered. For Tallis the large forces that make up the “main” orchestra, the string orchestra, and the string quartet are laid right out before your eyes. The individual instruments of the quartet, especially, are easy for even a flat out newbie to place. This recording is truly *spacious* as in a large cathedral or other large venue (it was recorded at the Symphony Hall in Atlanta). The aspect ratio, or scale, is so most natural. Finally, the recording has a transparency that is simply not there (or rarely so) in a PCM recording.
And to top it off, I learned today (after I had written my comments here) over at the Audio Asylum-Hi-Rez Forum from Telarc's recording engineer Michael Bishop, that the Vaughan Williams SACD “was just nominated for "Best Surround Album" and "Best Orchestral Performance" in the recently announced Grammy nominations".
By the way, this recording is demonstration quality whether heard in two channel or multi-channel.
Most highly recommended.
Robert C. Lang
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| Review by Jonalogic July 20, 2010 (8 of 17 found this review helpful)
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I'm used to being a dissenter, so here is an alternate viewpoint. Now shoot me.
Peter Warlock's often-quoted comment that "it is all just a little too much like a cow looking over a gate" was actually about Vaughan Williams' overall style, rather than this particular symphony, Anyway, he would have been right, but for this performance of VW 5 only.
This is beautifully played, serene and spiritual. But VW was also a man of great fire and passion (note the explosive 4th and 6th symphonies which bracket this), and the best performances reflect this dichotomy- this one doesn't: it's all one mood and one feeling. So much worthiness at one go, it's like taking a couple of Mogadon. And I just LOVE this music. But one-note VW is not for me.
The same issue permeates the Tallis Fantasia; it's all reverent, hushed and dewy-eyed. But just listen to the great Barbirolli or Silvestri performances to hear what's missing.
Although I must admit that its juxtaposition with the original Tallis 4-part hymn ' Why fum'th in fight' is a masterstroke.
I haven't mentioned the sound yet- that's unusual for me. It sucks! I actually had to check a couple of times to see if it was actually playing the SACD rather than RBCD layer. It's bloated, fuzzy, unfocussed and - most noticeably - shockingly un-transparent. Really. No, it's not my high end gear, as soon as I put on a MoFi, BIS, Chandos, Caro Mitis... you get the idea... the see-through transparency is back!
On a broader note, I find Telarcs to be thoroughly inconsistent. Some - most noticeably the old Soundstream remasters - were good to excellent. More modern ones were a very mixed bag, suffering varously from:
1) Wow, look what a big bass drum I have!
2) Misty, distant balance
3) Under-balanced percussion (apart from the enormous bass drum, see #1)
4) Paavo Jarvi- don't start me on him, serial murderer of various 2Oth century classics (Stravinsky Rite, Bartok Concerto for Orchestra, Britten Young Person's Guide and many, many more)
5) Hey, my bass drum is STILL bigger than yours!
OK, I feel better, now, doctor. I'll come quietly.
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