Bax

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Free Music Notes for Bax

Free Music Review: The Chandos' Tradition of Enterprising: A great Bax series!
Hit: 5 Stars

The music on this CD are all premiere recordings. The London Pageant (1937) is especially tuneful and majestic, sort of an extension of Paean (piano version of 1920, orchestrated in 1938). For me, however, the main interest is his Concertante for Three Wind Instruments and Orchestra in four movements (1948-1949). The conception is original and ingenious, with the first movement employing a cor anglais (english horn) solo, the clarinet solo a feature in the scherzo (second movement), and the horn in the lento, third movement. Bax' musical personality remains intact, though the sense of urgency and the "brazing romanticism" is not as strong of a presence as his works before 1937. The music is reflective and laid back for the most part, especially the first movement, an elegy, with the mood melancholic as his In Memoriam (for cor-anglais, harp and string quartet). The scherzo second movement and the finale are comical and jovial while the lento, third movement is likewise a soulful lamentation as the first.

The conception behind Tamara was a full-length ballet with an extended prelude and two acts (all-in-all, thirty numbers Bax prepared in the piano version by 1911). Some of the music from Tamara have been re-used: the Dance of the Water Spirits is re-used in "From Dusk Till Dawn" another one of Bax' ballets. Graham Parlett essentially derived a suite from the original piano score and provided the orchestration, which is as authentic as it can get, with the orchestral vision very much Baxian in vividness and in spirit. The music itself is attractive and a foretaste of the later Bax we grew to know and admire. His tone poem "Cathleen-ni-Hoolihan" of 1903-1905, which is youthful and innocent is, likewise a foretaste (The Garden of Fand of 1916 inherent some of the magic apparent in this work).

The performances under Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Philharmonic were in every way vivid, authoritative, and eloquent while the soloists for the Concertante: Gillian Callow-cor anglais, John Bradbury-clarinet, and Jonathan Goodall-horn, played magnificently. I especially admire Gillian Callow's rendering in the elegy, which is piquant and spellbinding. Meanwhile, the Chandos recording is of its usual high standards.

I do hope for a musicologist to engage in the orchestration of Tamara. Nevertheless, this CD is truly a worthwhile acquisition, whether you're a Bax fan or not.

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