Search - R. Vaughan Williams, Bernard Haitink, The London Philharmonic :: A Sea Symphony (Symphony No.1)

A n Exciting Performance

D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 12/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a breathtaking recording of A Sea Symphony that perfectly conveys the vast space of the sea and certainly ranks among the best readings of this work. The recording engineering is fantastic with all of the vast forces beautifully balanced. Bernard Haitink has been able to bring out the grandeur and passion of the music into an unforgettable performance by the London Philharmonic. The soloists - Jonathan Summers and Felicity Lott - are in superb voice and Ms. Lott's voice soars to her high notes. Mr. Summers is especially good in "On the beach at night, alone" where his resonant baritone is robust yet sensitive.



Perhaps the most exciting movement of the symphony is the scherzo (The Waves) with the London Philharmonic Chorus providing an exciting sound picture of an angry storm-tossed sea. The unforgettable moment for me has always been the drama of the opening bars where the trumpets play a fanfare before the entrance of the choir singing "Behold, the sea itself!" The ending of the symphony is especially beautiful as the music and voices fade away, gradually, into silence.



A Sea Symphony is music that deserves to be better known and if you have never heard it before, this recording is certainly a good choice.

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Totally underwhelming

captain cuttle | Vancouver, Canada | 10/15/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I own umpteen versions of this great, if flawed, work and have heard it live several times. If you don't have a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes at the final, rocking pianissimo, you're either made of wood or there's something wrong with the performance. At the end of this Haitink version there were tears in my eyes, but tears of boredom.

I actually bought the cd years ago after it won all kinds of awards in the British music press, but after half a dozen listens I put it aside thinking maybe I just wasn't in tune with the work at that time. Recently I unearthed it and ran comparisons with my other versions, and it sounded even worse than I remembered. Put it next to the first Boult version, the Handley or just about any other version on the market and I challenge you to tell me where it deserves all those original plaudits. The fact that it is just about the longest performance on record doesn't necessarily say anything. Plenty of conductors can hold your concentration at unusually slow speeds. But there is no tension here, no drama in this most dramatic of symphonies. It plods along like some sub-Parry oratorio. Both soloists have their moments but Summers develops a didgeridoo-like wobble at one point and Lott, normally the most sensitive and feet-on-the-ground singer, gives her opening lines in a voice that out-plums even Isobel Ballie (flaunt out, O sea your separate flegs of naysheeons) on the old Boult. Baillie comes around, and so does Lott here, with some lovely pianissimo towards the end of "The Explorers". But it's not enough to rescue this performance.

For me, the first Boult still lives up to its legendary reputation and Handley is the benchmark for modern versions though I have yet to hear the Daniel. I have done my best to give this performance a fair hearing, mainly because it was so fanfared at its release. Enough. I will keep searching for the ideal Sea Symphony because the work itself is worth it. In the meantime the local public library can have this cd.

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