Aktion	Zweigstelle	Standorte	Status	Frist	Vorbestellungen
Vorbestellen	Zweigstelle: 07., Urban-Loritz-Pl. 2a	Standorte: CD.01D Vaugh / College 5a - Szene / Sammlung Duffek	Status: Verfügbar	Frist:	Vorbestellungen: 0

... guaranteed to be a Recording of the Year. Sir Mark Elder is a music director and conductor with an international vision yet there is today no champion of English music as influential, maintaining the long tradition fostered by the Halle. To hear a performance of Vaughan Williams s A Sea Symphony is a rare treat. With around 340 performers (including 240 singers) organising a performance of A Sea Symphony is an immense undertaking and the large Bridgewater Hall audience clearly relished the opportunity. Few composers can have received as much tuition as Vaughan Williams who as late as 1908, then approaching his forties, was taking lessons with Maurice Ravel. Completed in 1909, after a seven year gestation period, any self-doubts about his compositional prowess in A Sea Symphony certainly don t show. Scored on a large scale for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and orchestra for a composer in the early stages of his symphonic career it s such a highly assured work. Even though American poet Walt Whitman had died earlier in 1892 his verse had become extremely popular with composers of the day none more so than Vaughan Williams who for A Sea Symphony uses Whitman s mystical text from the poetry collection Leaves of Grass. Buoyed by Sir Mark s judicious pacing the performance of this demanding work crackles with drama and is astutely brought together as one impressive whole. The choice of both soprano Katherine Broderick and baritone Roderick Williams, a regular visitor to the Bridgwater Hall was an inspired one. Assisted by their impressive projection and clarity of diction on the night the pair experienced few problems in being heard in the Bridgewater s acoustic so notoriously testing for vocalists. Of the many highlights I especially enjoyed the evocative third movement Scherzo: The Waves with the combined forces presenting the often turbulent activity involved in sailing the perilous seas so successfully. One could almost taste the salt tang of the spray and feel the sting on the face. Satisfyingly the soloists, choirs and orchestra have been caught splendidly by the sound team with a vivid clarity and well judged balance. In this live recording there is virtually no extraneous noise and no applause left in at the conclusion. An authoritative essay by the late Michael Kennedy has been included and pleasingly full texts are provided. A key work in British Music, this magnificent live recording of Vaughan Williams s A Sea Symphony, which grips the listener from first to note to last, is guaranteed to be a Recording of the Year. - Michael Cookson, MusicWeb-international.com; Satisfyingly the soloists, choirs and orchestra have been caught splendidly by the sound team with a vivid clarity and well judged balance. In this live recording there is virtually no extraneous noise and no applause left in at the conclusion. An authoritative essay by the late Michael Kennedy has been included and pleasingly full texts are provided. A key work in British Music, this magnificent live recording of Vaughan Williamss A Sea Symphony, which grips the listener from first to note to last, is guaranteed to be a Recording of the Year. - Michael Cookson, musicweb-international.com; The opening of Mark Elder s live recording of A Sea Symphony rivals Boult s in its grandeur, and when Roderick Williams introduces his rude brief recitative it s obvious that Elder has one of the oakiest, most characterful baritone soloists on record. The Hallé Choir is on its toes throughout, but is hampered by the elatively dry, boxed-in acoustic of the Bridgewater Hall. Elder s broad tempos he takes five minutes longer for the work than most rivals also accationally sap a sense of forward momentum, particularly in the outer movements. But this is still a strongly stated interpretation of VWs sea vision. - BBC Radio 3 Building a Library.