Message #11511

[Albion]

My copy of this exciting disc arrived today and, I must admit, I put it into the CD player with some trepidation (remembering the woeful Marco Polo/ Naxos recording of No.2) ...

 ???

I needn't have worried! This is splendidly played and conducted throughout and clearly great care has taken to balance orchestral textures so that important figures and instruments which might be lost in the mêlée (such as the harp) come across with great clarity. Having said that, it's neither a 'dry' nor a 'swimming pool' acoustic and seems just about ideal. With this brilliant and hugely enjoyable rendition of English Suite No.1 (time to finally put the Hull YSO disc to bed), all of Havergal Brian's early extant orchestral music is at last available on disc in professional performances (courtesy of Naxos and Toccata) as are all four surviving English Suites (Dutton, Toccata and now Naxos). Alexander Walker gets wonderful results from his Russian forces who in all probability never heard of Brian before this recording was made but sound totally unfazed by his stringent orchestral demands and elusive style. All in all, a real winner and strongly recommended for those who respond to early or late Havergal Brian (or, like me, who even enjoy both  ;)).

 ;D