Search - Ralph Vaughan Williams, Vernon Handley, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra :: Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 in D; Flos campi; Oboe Concerto

Marvelous VW, outstanding sound, unbelievable price

R. Lane | Tracy, CA USA | 04/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Vernon Handley and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra recorded the 9 Vaughan Williams symponies in the late 1980s for EMI in the now defunct Eminence line. From the start, the CDs were issued at mid price, but many of the recordings became classics instantly at any price. Certainly this recordingof the 5th symphony ranks as the crowning achievement in the series. The eerie opening has you spell bound right from the start. Handley handles the wide ranging moods of one of VWs shorter symphonies very adeptly, the playing of the Royal Liverppol orchestra is surprisingly excellent at all times, and EMI captured the performance in state of the art sound that is still of demonstration quality over 15 years later.
The present CD adds the Oboe concerto to the mix (Flos Campi was on the original issue and is also included here) , so the bargain is even better that before. You get a full 79 minutes of sheer joy.
A 7 disc set of Handley's Vaughan Williams symphony recordings from the Eminence line, including this disk and the other 8 symphonies AND the much underperformed Job, is also available, but not in the USA. You can get it form Amazon.co.uk though, asin #B00006J3LP.
One minus (but not enough to take away a star) : the documentation is pretty scant. The jewel case booklet is just a single page foldout."

A weak Vaughan Williams 5th but Flos Campi is nice

dv_forever | Michigan, USA | 03/03/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of the primary recommendations for this symphony in many record guides. Don't expect miracles from Vernon Handley. It's well played and recorded but misses quite a bit of the rapture of the piece, most notably in the slow movement. Another major recommendation is Richard Hickox on Chandos. There is also Andre Previn and the usually inspired John Barbirolli. They are preferable to this version.



However a short choral work called Flos Campi and the Oboe Concerto are also part of this CD. Pleasant music captured well, a consolation for the performance of the symphony which is good but not as great as I hoped."