Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis; Fantasia on

Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis; Fantasia on | Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, ... | Magnificent!

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Vaughan Williams: ...

	Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis; Fantasia on Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, ... EMI Classics, 2000 average customer review:based on 23 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Definitive Recording for these Works

Musicologists often joke that England produced no good classical music between the death of Handel and the rise of the composers Elgar and Vaughan Williams. This CD certainly confirms the old adage that good things come to those who wait.

A musician myself, I have performed every piece on this CD and, out of all of the available recordings of it, I have always found myself returning to this disc for inspiration.

The setting of Vaughan William's Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is particularly beautiful, with the divinely sorrowful contrast between the divided orchestra coming across in the digital medium almost as well as in the concert hall, which is sadly more than I can claim for many other recordings of the piece.

This is an excellent disc, and one that I have often used to prove to friends that they actually do like classical music. It's a must own!

In an odd side note, the track information displayed for this CD is entirely wrong. I have verified this on multiple computers.

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Magnificent!

I bought this recording primarily for the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis which I wanted to get to know. Not only was I pleased by the recording of that work but the other works were also very much to my liking. The sound is very clean, not least considering the recordings were made in 1963 and '66. The Elgar pieces are performed straightforwardly without emotional excess, just the way they should be performed, in my opinion. I would not hesitate to recommend this recording wholeheartedly.

Music to break your heart

I was able to attend several of Sir John Barbirolli's concerts in the last ten years of his life and particularly remember his Verdi's "Requiem" and Schubert's Ninth Symphony. He was, however, most noted for his Elgar. On this disc Elgar's already heartbreaking music is invested additionally with Barbirolli's own sense of "the tearfulness of things". His interpretation of Vaughan-Williams' "Variations on a Theme of Thomas Tallis" is sublime. These performances go beyond what is on the page and become transcendental. Anyone not moved by this disc truly has a heart of stone.

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Desert Island Disc

If I were stuck on a desert island and could only have 1 disc, this would be it. Sublime. Words won't do justice.

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5

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