Search - Vaughan Williams, Bainbridge, Willcocks :: 5 Tudor Portraits / Benedicite / 5 Variations

Great recordings--better than the Chandos version

Samer T Ismail | Danbury, CT | 06/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As someone reviewing the Chandos recording of "Five Tudor Portraits" noted, it's not often recorded, in part because of its odd structure (the fourth portrait runs half the work and is for women's chorus and alto soloist alone).Like the Chandos version, Willcocks does an admirable job with the music: the finale, "Jolly Rutterkin," never fails to put a smile on my face, while that fourth movement, "Jane Scroop"--a lament for a pet bird killed by a cat--comes off as touching without being overly sentimental or maudlin.And, like the Chandos version, this disc comes with a good recording of "Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus." Unlike that disc, though, it adds one rather unique item: RVW's "Benedicite," for soprano, chorus, and large orchestra. It's a brilliant piece of music, in a vein similar to his magnificent and equally neglected "A Song for Thanksgiving;" it is this work--with Heather Harper as the soloist--that sets this disc above the Chandos version as my personal favorite.Anyone who enjoys the music of Vaughan Williams should give this disc a try."