Sinfonia of London & John Wilson: Vaughan Williams; Howells; Delius; Elgar: Music for Strings
Chandos

With its latest collection, Sinfonia of London and British conductor John Wilson continue their remarkable run of first-string recordings. Since its debut recording of Korngold's Symphony in F sharp appeared in 2019, the orchestra has issued sets featuring French orchestral works, Respighi's Roman Trilogy, Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 3, English music for strings, albums of works by Dutilleux, John Ireland, and Ravel, and Metamorphosen, a collection featuring pieces by Richard Strauss, Korngold, and Schreker—each release distinguished by dazzling performances and the whole testifying to the incredible range commanded by Wilson and the orchestra. To have produced such a wealth of high-calibre recordings in a mere four years is a staggering feat. (It's worth noting that this version of the Sinfonia, jumpstarted in 2018 by Wilson, wasn't the first, its earlier iteration recognized in the ‘50s as the leading recording orchestra of its time and with more than 300 film credits to its name, including the enduring 1958 soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann for Hitchcock's Vertigo.)

Given the overall excellence of their interpretations, it would seem wrong to suggest one particular musical type as the optimal fit. That said, an album featuring works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Sir Edward Elgar would seem to be about as perfect a match as there could possibly be. That the pieces presented, Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Elgar's Introduction and Allegro, are regarded as two of the greatest British works for string orchestra merely reinforces that impression. And let's not fail to mention that the sixty-six-minute set also includes superb renderings of Herbert Howells' Concerto for String Orchestra and Frederick Delius's Late Swallows, making this new addition to the Sinfonia discography as strong as those issued earlier. All of the pieces except Delius's were originally composed for string orchestra, Late Swallows initially appearing as the slow movement of Delius's String Quartet and arranged as a standalone piece by Eric Fenby. The performances are, as always, vibrant, as Wilson coaxes from the Sinfonia some of the finest string playing around today.

Composed in 1910, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910, revised 1919) is scored for string quartet and double string orchestra, making for a ravishing presentation. Following a hushed opening, the two orchestras give their attention to different aspects of the theme (which Tallis wrote in 1567), their impassioned expressions blossoming gloriously as the shimmering sound mass expands and then decompresses for gentler ruminations. A rapt duo between violin and viola emerges, their intertwining buoyed by a tremulous backdrop that in turn leads to an emphatic collective statement of no small grandeur. Tallis's theme is never out of earshot for long, and for fifteen minutes one is held hostage by Vaughan Williams' rhapsodic Fantasia and happily so.

The influence of Elgar and Vaughan Williams on Howells' three-part Concerto for String Orchestra (1938) is discernible, but Howells' concerto, the Sinfonia's rendition weighing in at twenty-eight minutes, ultimately asserts itself as a credible and substantial personal statement. It certainly makes its presence felt when it's initiated by six stabbing chords and feverish patterns. While the opening movement includes passages of aggressive drive, there are slower ones too, their brooding tone sharply contrasting with the fury of the uptempo parts. Memorable also are a tender viola solo section and, as always, the passion and precision of the Sinfonia's execution. Elegiac, fragile, and poignant, the central movement bears the dedication ‘In Memoriam: E. E. (1934) and M. K. H. (1935),' the first a reference to Elgar and the second to Howells' son Michael, who died at the age of nine. Grief and sorrow are conveyed movingly throughout this adagio, after which the robust finale re-instates the high energy of the opening. While solo viola surfaces to lead the charge, the spotlight primarily centres on the full orchestra, especially when Howell works into the movement a spirited folk song-like episode, a dancing pizzicato section, and ultra-vigorous ensemble writing.

While Delius composed his String Quartet in 1916 and revised it a year later, Late Swallows first appeared in its Fenby arrangement nearly a half-century later when published in 1963. His description of it as a “beautiful autumnal soliloquy in sound” is apt, especially when the Sinfonia's strings imbue the wistful material with lustre. One might be reminded a little bit of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending when the acrobatic arc of the strings seems to suggest the movement of swallows in flight. A faint folk-like tinge emerges too, that attributable perhaps to the fact that Delius based the central section around a melody from his opera Koanga, whose music was influenced by the songs of black plantation workers he'd heard in Florida as a young man. Regardless, the music of Late Swallows is marked by warmth, serenity, and a dreamy, almost celestial quality.

Concluding the release is Elgar's Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47 (1904-05), which he scored for solo quartet and string orchestra. While it, like Howell's, is in three movements, Elgar's is half the length at a compact thirteen-and-a-half minutes. As a result, many an idea is packed into the writing, four in the brief opening movement alone. It's the fourth idea, however, a melancholy theme voiced by solo viola, that's the most potent. In the central “Allegro,” the music swells into a forceful dialogue between the quartet and the rest of the strings; a softer episode ensues that sets the stage for an effervescent finale ablaze with declamatory expressions, elegant counterpoint, and a majestic coda. Par for the Elgar course, the music is riveting

February 2023