Search - Elgar, Ireland, Ansell :: Fringes of the Fleet

Good performances of rare pieces, but...

Aaron Z. Snyder | CHESTNUT HILL, MA USA | 02/03/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of Elgar's "Fringes of the Fleet" ever since I first heard the 1917 recording with Charles Mott, et. al., on a badly-transferred Pearl LP. The liveliness of the music is infectious (with the exception of "Submarines", which has the appropriate overall sense of dread), and the performance on this Elgar-conducted recording is fabulous.

I'm a bit less enthusiastic about this new recording, which proclaims itself as the "[f]irst professional orchestral recording since 1917". Yes, the performances are well-polished, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. The four baritones in these songs are supposed to sound like rough and ready sailors, and the 1917 crew certainly *do* sound that way, despite their excellent singing. The modern crew sound as if they've just returned from their manicurist, and are now hoisting a few glasses of fine wine. One of the most telling spots is in "The Lowestoft Boat", with the line "The cook was chef at the Lost Dogs' Home...." In the 1917 performance, the four baritones begin barking like dogs, followed by hearty laughter and a repeat of the line. In this modern performance, Roderick Williams pauses briefly and then emits a few embarrassing opera-chuckles. It's all so VERY refined, and it just sounds silly.

In 1988 Pearl released a CD called "Elgar: War Music" (SHE CD 9602) with the Rutland Sinfonia conducted by Barry Collett. The CD included the second-ever recording of "The Fringes of the Fleet", and, while the performance may have been less than polished, at least the vocalists had a lot of that rough and ready quality that the original ones did. (Yes, I know that there's no barking and laughter on this recording.)

One other odd thing about the Somm recording: this version of "The Fringes of the Fleet" seems to be sung mostly by one solo baritone, with occasional contributions from the others. The two earlier recordings seem to be much more of a group effort, and, for that reason alone, sound more authentic.

Despite my less-than enthusiastic review of the four "Fringes" songs here, there are some niceties on this CD. The two a capella songs, "Inside the Bar" (the "Fringes" encore song) and "Big Steamers" are beautifully done. In fact, I can find little else to carp about on this CD. It's just the main item which isn't all it should be, in my opinion. Considering the good sound and the other performances, I feel compelled to give the CD four stars. Perhaps I'm being generous. Perhaps not."