Bax Four Orchestral Pieces, etc. from Chandos

[Alan Howe]

A simply marvellous CD of very attractive late, late romantic music, superbly performed and recorded:
http://www.mdt.co.uk/bax-phantasy-four-orchestral-pieces-philharmonic-sir-andrew-davis-chandos.html
Review here:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Aug14/Bax_phantasy_CHAN10829.htm
How do Chandos get this sort of thing so right so often?

[mbhaub]

Already on order. The debt we owe Chandos for bringing Bax to us is immense. Wouldn't it be nice if they did the same for Raff?

[musiclover]

I heard that Dutton have recorded the Bax Variations for Orchestra (premiered at the English Music Festival earlier this year) with Yates conducting the RSNO. I wonder when it will be out and what else is on the disc.

[Gauk]

This release even got a positive review in the Guardian ...

[jerfilm]

Dumb question, I know, but are the Four orchestra pieces the same as Four orchestral sketches?  I don't see opus numbers so I'm confused.

J

[eschiss1]

Bax's 4 Orchestral Sketches, from a description of a recording of them, are the pieces "Pensive Twilight", "Dance in the Sun", From the Mountains of Home (In the Hills of Home) and the Dance of Wild Irravel - which Parlett does call 4 Orchestral Pieces, GP 152, 1912, see Baxworks: 1910-1914 (1912 anchor provided). They are given the dates 1913-1914 in the MusicWeb review and  perhaps in the notes to the Chandos recording- maybe on the basis of new and better information; or maybe spuriously. I don't know why.  (Chandos' own page- here - gives 1912-1913 - taking 1912 from Parlett as a beginning-of-composition date perhaps??, these two are then consistent...)

[BerlinExpat]

Dumb question, I know, but are the Four orchestra pieces the same as Four orchestral sketches?  I don't see opus numbers so I'm confused.

It would appear the appellation [/i]Four Orchestral Pieces[/i] is a Chandos invention.
In Lewis Foreman's Bax Biography the pieces are dated 1912 - 1913 and are called Four Orchestral Sketches. They were reworked in 1928 as Three Pieces for small orchestra and given different titles.

Bax hardly used opus numbers. I haven't come across one higher than op. 8 so I hope this post helps to enlighten!

[jerfilm]

Thank you  sir.  I kind of suspected that.   You'd think they could get it right and not cause confusion.....

[eschiss1]

The use of "GP" or similar is a cataloguing system based on Parlett's work (GP for G. Parlett). (Not exactly similar to Köchel in that quite a few of Mozart's works were given opus numbers during his lifetime and afterwards, often conflicting ones (though e.g. Mozart's "Quintet Op. 108" and translations thereof was understood to be his clarinet quintet for a long time, I gather- lots of references to that; quartets Op.10 his Haydn-Quartets...) and even afterwards, and that at that time it was more under the control of the publisher than the composer, relatively, so if two different publishers released the same work by a composer with different opus #s, as often happened to Pleyel e.g. even after he created his own publishing company (I think...), well, that was- what was, confusing or not.)

Anyhow... erm... a cataloguing system. Right. Yes.

[semloh]

Anyone who finds Bax tedious will surely be converted by these works, and especially the four orchestral pieces. I find them totally seductive and quite beautiful. The viola's mournful quality is used to great effect in the Phantasy, and it's hard to imagine anyone being able to resist its charm.

[eschiss1]

Hrm- my own vote for Bax's most controlled and convincing work might go to his 2nd string quartet (and after that to some of his other chamber works, e.g. the last version of the 1st violin sonata, which keeps the beauties of the first version, removes the Borodin quotes of that version's finale (in fact, basically replaces the whole finale), etc. ...)
but then, granted that I don't find Bax's music tedious anyway (though I do know people who do*), I look forward to hearing the new recording!

*No, I don't think some of aforementioned people, classical fans though they are, would be convinced by it. Then again, one of them didn't have much good to say about e.g. Magnard either, unlike a relative of mine who on hearing recordings of Magnard 3 and Melartin 5 for the first time did the equivalent of ears-perking-up. ... Anyways.

[sdtom]

Anyone who finds Bax tedious will surely be converted by these works, and especially the four orchestral pieces. I find them totally seductive and quite beautiful. The viola's mournful quality is used to great effect in the Phantasy, and it's hard to imagine anyone being able to resist its charm.

I think this deserves a listen
Tom