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The understated and hence under-rated Pastoral Symphony, one of Vaughan Williams's most haunting creations, has lacked a definitive recording. Capturing the composer's vision (of a war-torn Great War landscape) across all four movements has so often been the problem--Haitink and Norrington, for example, have much to offer but not the whole package. Vernon Handley with the RLPO has come closest to that, but now Hickox and the admirable LSO take us still closer. There's a natural, unforced flow about this reading that simply works, with orchestral textures beautifully balanced, coloured and recorded. Time and again transitions from section to section are wonderfully handled, and the (unacknowledged) solo contributions are outstanding. In the last movement soprano Rebecca Evans shapes and paces her wordless lines to near perfection. Misgivings? Almost--the daringly broad tempo of the second movement means it clocks in at 10'27", a full two minutes longer than Handley. Hickox's phrasing inevitably sails close to the wind but somehow, magically, things hold together. The
Norfolk Rhapsody No.2 (completed by Simon Hogger) is a delightful discovery--wistful and jolly by turns, like No.1, while
The Running Set is uncomplicated frivolity--a string of British folk tunes designed for dance. --
Andrew Green
