Search - Andrew Penny :: Walton: Henry V

Better than Plummer, tamer than Olivier

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 03/13/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When the original film was such a hit, RCA called Olivier and an orchestra into the studios to do scenes from the play with Walton's music sharing equal time. The sound was muddy, Olivier chewed up the scenery. Then Christopher Plummer on Chandos label had a go at it in his own arrangement of somewhat more of the text and music than on the older 78 rpm set. It is this arrangement that Naxos has acquired and actors Michael Sheen and Anton Lesser are on hand to give a stirring reading of the "famous parts" from this work. While Penny's orchestra seems perhaps a bit thin compared with that on Chandos, the price of this CD is less than half that of the other and this is a great bargain. Walton's score for this film is one of the better examples of movie music that can hold its own without the visuals. Indeed Angel once had a now legendary LP with much of the score but without the readings. It worked without them and it works with them. Be sure to buy a second copy for your English teacher. (I do, however, miss the sound of the Agincourt arrows tearing across the field toward the French.)"