CDLX 7289 Unrecorded Vaughan Williams (including Serenade in A minor, Dark Pastoral etc)
CDLX 7290 John McCabe Concertos
CDLX 7291 Benjamin Godard Piano Concerto No 2 and supporting programme
CDLX 7292 Cecilia McDowall Orchestral works
CDLX 7293 Chadwick [unrecorded] Orchestral works + Sinfonietta
LXBOX 2012 York Bowen chamber music (collected reissue)
Another great release due in October to include Alan Bush Lascaux Symphony, Bax Viola Phantasy and Frederick d'Erlanger Piano Concerto.
Thanks for this notice :)
Given that "Dark Pastoral" is David Matthews's realisation of the Vaughan Williams Cello Concerto slow movement I am wondering/presuming that this cd is the one which will also contain the David Matthews Symphony No.7 (recorded a year ago now) ???
I wonder which McCabe concertos are being released ??? His unrecorded concertos include the Piano Concerto No.3(37 mins), the Violin Concertos Nos. 1(30 mins) and 2(38 mins), the Horn Concerto(24 mins), the Cello Concerto(23 mins) and the Concertos for Oboe d'Amore(14 mins), Oboe(14 mins) and for Oboe and Clarinet(20 mins).
Yes, it's a release that raises a few questions, but as ever I thoroughly look forward to "D-Day"! I'm guessing the Brian 13 will be out around Christmas (judging by other releases' recording and release dates).
Whilst for me the potential highlights are the Godard and Chadwick CDs. Good oh!
Quote from: Mark Thomas on Tuesday 26 June 2012, 15:28
Whilst for me the potential highlights are the Godard and Chadwick CDs. Good oh!
Here's hoping they'll be actual highlights...
"Supporting programme", hmmmm.
Quote from: Alan Howe on Tuesday 26 June 2012, 17:03
Here's hoping they'll be actual highlights...
Don't know the couplings and haven't heard the music yet, hence "potential". Doesn't do to get one's hopes up, y'know. I don't subscribe to the perverse notion that something is good just because it's unknown. Curmudgeon, moi?
Agreed. Still, Godard and Chadwick should make for some very enjoyable listening...
When Dutton released the CD of the 1st PC with the Introduction & Allegro for piano & orchestra and the Symphionie Orientale, I wrote to them suggesting that if they did PC No, 2 it should be coupled with the Fantaisie Persane for piano & orchestra and the Symphonie Gothique. It will be interesting to see if they have adopted my suggestions.
I'll certainly be homing in on the Vaughan Williams, especially if it also includes the Bucolic Suite, but otherwise only the Chadwick holds a real attraction for me. Mind you, the promises of (Alan) Bush and d'Erlanger are tantalising prospects for the October schedule.
:)
Quote from: Gareth Vaughan on Tuesday 26 June 2012, 20:34
it should be coupled with the Fantaisie Persane for piano & orchestra and the Symphonie Gothique.
They'd be great couplings, Gareth. I do hope that your suggestion bears fruit.
All the Godard concertos [rec.] have proved to be exquisite. [I'd much rather have seen them on the RPC list!] And despite all the mud slinging here I found the Symphony No. 4 [Orientale] to be quite beautiful. The Godard CD is definitely on my list. I do hope someone gets around to recording the rest of the 5 symphonies!
Can I sound like a real ignoramus and ask Chadwick's Christian name? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with him.
George Whitefield Chadwick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Whitefield_Chadwick)
Thank you.
Quote from: Jimfin on Wednesday 27 June 2012, 13:03
Can I sound like a real ignoramus and ask Chadwick's Christian name? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with him.
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,2716.msg31582.html#msg31582 (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,2716.msg31582.html#msg31582)
Can't see myself why the Godard PC's would have been better on the RPC list. For my money the Dutton sound is better and Hyperion wouldn't have used the amazing Victor Sangiorgio and that would indeed have been a shame. What a discovery!
I can't wait for the 2nd disc. Hope it's the same performers as the 1st.
No apologies necessary - there have been several composing Chadwicks (look in this list (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mussmhtml/mussmAuthors27.html) for example, with links to scans of about 40 works by J. (John?) M. Chadwick, etc.) just as there have been several composing Paines, not just John Knowles Paine, though some of the others may have been close relatives...), though so far as we know at this point, of them only George Whitefield Chadwick was a master of his craft (and arguably a genius, I'd say :) )
Then again, finding out that there were others too (if it proves to be so, anyway... :) ) is part of what this forum is about too.
Just for the record, there were _two_ George W. Chadwicks composing music in New England during the late 19th century.
That doesn't make things _easier_ :)
My understanding-derived from John McCabe's website-is that the works Dutton has recorded for release are in fact the chamber orchestral pieces "Les Martinets Noirs" for two violins and strings(2003), "Rainforest I" for ten instruments(1984) and "Rainforest II" for trumpet and eleven strings(1987).
Where are these so called July releases. Nothing has come up on the Amazon or for that matter the Dutton site.
Why the rush? It's still July!
The February releases didn't come up till March on the Dutton site, and they take even longer to get onto Amazon. But I always order direct from Dutton: they are excellent and quick
It's usually mid to late in the month before Dutton puts the new items up.
Dutton advised me today it MAY be early August or late July. They can be very secretive!
The new releases are now listed at the Dutton website :D - http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/#new_epoch2 (http://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/#new_epoch2)
I've ordered the Godard and the Chadwick - they look delightful.
The Chadwick is a very rewarding CD, chock full of worthwhile discoveries. Cleopatra in particular impressed me - a true large-scale symphonic poem with more than a hint of impressionism and plenty of incident. The Pastoral Prelude is far from being "cowpat music" - it's vibrantly upbeat and joyful, whereas the Elegiac Overture Adonais has a moody, brooding character. The BBC Concert Orchestra, which sometimes sounds as if it needs a few more strings in particular, rise to the challenge of these works. Even Cleopatra, which employs a much larger orchestra than the other two, doesn't sound underpowered. The Sinfonietta, which wasn't new to me, gets a nicely crisp performance. Thoroughly recommended.
If I'm not so immediately enthusiastic about the Godard disc it's not because of the performances or sound, both of which strike me as top notch. Victor Sangiorgio in particular is a fabulous pianist and he makes the best case possible for the two concerted works here. I was hoping that the Piano Concerto No.2 would come over as a stronger work than it does in an old radio recording I have but, for me at least, it remains pretty and engaging but ultimately unsubstantial. The watered down exoticism of the Fantaisie Persane inevitably reminded me of Saint-Saën's Fifth Piano Concerto and that's no bad thing. It's a very attractive, glittery piece in two movements but don't go looking for any profundity. Of the purely orchestral works, the six short pieces in two suites extracted from his opera Jocelyn are uniformly polished and tuneful but it was the Overture to the early (1882) opera Les Guelfs which struck me as the strongest work on the CD. It's slow-fast-slow structure gives it a clear narrative arc, the material is strongly characterised and Godard's orchestration is more direct and functional than in the other works. If they are gorgeously gaudy silk, this is honest unadorned linen. It's a shame in a way that it is programmed first!
Apologies if this smacks of pure advertising: my intention is purely to benefit friends on the Forum (at least in the UK) and not to promote any commercial interest.
And after that prolegomenon? I have just obtained all the new Dutton releases from HMV at £6.00 per CD, and post free.
Now head down for some serious listening. Not too sure if, for example, John McCabe counts as a 'romantic' composer. But a polite two fingers held up in disdain against pettifogging distinctions since McCabe has brought immense pleasure in the past, and all five new Duttons obtained at such a price certainly spreads a romantic glow across my features.
The Vaughan Williams 'Early and Late Works' disc is a real pleasure from start to finish. The early Bucolic Suite and Serenade are well worth having and contain moments which presage Vaughan William's later style.
The Chadwick CD turns out to be the pick of the bunch - at least for me. Although I think his music just misses the ultimate in individuality and memorability overall, there's so much orchestral colour and general imagination in everything he writes. The Adonais: Elegiac Overture from 1899, for example, is a very exciting piece, brim full of tunes and reminiscences of the best possible models - Tchaikovsky, Wagner, etc. It makes quite an impact on first hearing, although without having quite the personal stamp of the finest composers. But my goodness, what a craftsman.
...mind you I just loved the Godard disc too. Perhaps I was in a particularly receptive mood (i.e. saccharine-starved for the day!), but not only was I swept along by the overture to his opera Les Guelfs - which had some genuine passion and thrust to it - but I was also seduced (as one can only be by French music sometimes) by the charms of the 2nd Piano Concerto. No, it's not a major discovery, but I defy anyone not to be taken by it. The man was a charmer alright. Dutton are doing a great job on these non-British music releases: more, please!
I am ordering the Chadwick, in view of Mark's enthusiasm, and the VW.
If Dutton carry on like this, we'll have trouble finding Unsung Composers of 20thC romantic orchestral works! ;D
Oh no we won't!
Quote from: petershott@btinternet.com on Thursday 16 August 2012, 10:32
Apologies if this smacks of pure advertising: my intention is purely to benefit friends on the Forum (at least in the UK) and not to promote any commercial interest.
And after that prolegomenon? I have just obtained all the new Dutton releases from HMV at £6.00 per CD, and post free.
Now head down for some serious listening. Not too sure if, for example, John McCabe counts as a 'romantic' composer. But a polite two fingers held up in disdain against pettifogging distinctions since McCabe has brought immense pleasure in the past, and all five new Duttons obtained at such a price certainly spreads a romantic glow across my features.
Sadly HMV seem to have increased the price for all the new Dutton titles to £10.00 now >:(
It may be a consequence of the changes forced upon their trading practices in the budget.
Alas, I can't explain it. I've noticed over the last month or so HMV prices dramatically increase or decrease within a few days.
In this case, their website gave the price of £6 (to UK customers). I promptly grabbed, since in the past HMV have been (by far) the cheapest source of Duttons. Two days after I placed my order the price increased to £10, and (selfishly!) I gave myself a pat on the head for grabbing 5 bargains.
Surprisingly, the price then decreased back to £6 (at the time I made my posting above so that others could also benefit). Duttons remained at £6 for 7-10 days....but now, as Bulleid_Pacific observes, they have reverted to £10.
I can't explain any of this. Exactly the same seems to happen with, e.g. Hyperion - new and recent releases swing between £9 and £15. Same with Chandos.
I suppose the only moral is: keep an eye on their site, and grab bargains when they are available.
HMV also advertise CPO and BIS - usually at very tempting prices. Full of glee I make an order.....and weeks and weeks go by whilst HMV continue to tell me "On special order with our suppliers". After a long wait I then become a grumpy old man, cancel the order, and get the item elsewhere.
Sorry to place a post entirely about precious pennies. But I trust it might be welcome since I suppose the Forum acts as an information source for members with an interest in UC!
No, that's very helpful, Peter. Thank you! The moral, I suppose, is keep checking (and comparing) prices.
I, too, was pleasantly surprised when I noticed HMV offering the latest Duttons for £6, and, of course jumped at the opportunity to order the titles I was interested in. It would seem then that in spite of the recent Government-imposed tax changes, the Dutton new releases were still being offered at a more than competitive price (perhaps there has been a 1p increase this time - I can't recall exactly - but obviously of no consequence!). But the issue raised by Peter pertains to HMV and their most bizarre pricing structure which surely must be the most incomprehensible - and it must therefore come as no surprise that the group is/has been experiencing severe financial problems over the past 2 years at least.
Sure enough, it is most annoying when one orders a CPO (for example) new release at say £9, which, after several apologetic emails saying they are doing everything they can to obtain, they THEN CANCEL! I have then noticed that the same item is listed for £15!!! Needless to say I will not reorder, and one can safely presume that they will still be unable to complete the order! This now seems to be commonplace practice with CPO in particular, but alarmingly more specialist labels seem to be joining this list!
I know that the likes of us that regularly purchase new (and other) releases of unsung repertoire make up a very small proportion of HMV's customer base, but I have been assured by others that such inconsistency and incompetency is par for the course across the whole range of products offered by this company! Perhaps, therefore, it is not surprising that they are financially insecure! - and, if I recollect, their announcement after the recent VAT changes, to the effect that they consider their pricing structure to remain competitive in the current marketplace, seems rather laughable, to say the least!
I rarely order from HMV these days. Anyway, back to the latest Dutton releases...
My first impressions have been very positive. I like the McDowall, not having heard anything of hers before, and the VW Dark Pastoral is a kind of "The Lark Descending". The early works are pleasant too, though I am still getting used to hearing VW before he sounded like VW. As for John McCabe, the Rainforest II is very atmospheric.
In case it might interest my North American compatriots, I ordered the Chadwick from crochet.co.uk. Their list price is competitive, and, like amazon.co.uk, they subsidize shipments abroad by lowering the disc price when you select, say, U.S. as the destination. Worth a look.
I love the Godard disc and the VW. This pianist Dutton have brought forward (Victor Sangiorgio) is outstanding and his partnership with Martin Yates is clearly winning. It's great of Dutton to have brought Yates forward too as he is obviously so capapble in most repertoire. His VW 5 I just bought on the high reccomendation of BBC Music Magazine is really beautiful.
More from Sangiorgio & Yates please!