Search - Arnold Bax, Vernon Handley, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra :: Bax: Orchestral Works, Vol. 8 - Enchanted Summer: Walsinghame; Fatherland

Terrific Choral Pieces for Lovers of English choral music

Neal Schultz | Orange County, CA | 09/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first work on this CD dates from Bax's early years before World War I. Bax wrote a number of extended tone poems based on or inspired by Greek themes. Less familiar (at least to me) was this first work called "Enchanted Summer" (1909). Being a confirmed Baxian, I found the same full-bodied lush orchestration that all of us expect to hear from Sir Arnold. First rate recording/sound/performance. For those who love or hate the Chandos "sound" ---this CD is a demonstration disc for that style of engineering.



The other two works are Fatherland (1909) and Walsinghame (1926). Fatherland I found a very early non-Baxian sound but still is unmistakenably composed in the UK. An early Baxian bookend for the collector. The other work, Walsinghame, to me is an amalgam of the beautiful tone poems he composed before World War I and yet there is a sadness which you hear in all of Bax's (and many others of that time...) of a world that had irrevocably changed. Walsinghame is a beautiful choral piece that reminds me of Delius and Vaughan-Williams.



Highly Recommended."