Vaughan Williams - Hodie; Fantasia on Christmas Carols

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Customer reviews

review by: jmd555555 date: 2007-11-29 rating:
Outstanding performance of Hodie
This is a great CD. I had always thought that Hodie, despite great moments of inspiration (such as the marvellously inspiriting conclusion)was a rather inferior score to earlier choral scores like Sancta Civitas and Dona Nobis Pacem, but Hilary Davan Wetton's new Naxos (super-budget) version has forced me to revise my earlier view. I still believe that the beautiful Sancta Civitas is Vaughan Williams's choral masterpiece ( although Dona Nobis Pacem and the late, neglected Epithalamion are, respectively, works of great power and beauty) but Hodie comes across as a much greater score in this recording. The main reason for this, I think, is because the conductor takes many crucial sections at a considerably slower tempo than David Willcocks in his fine EMI recording (although the overall timings are very similar) or Richard Hickox in his disappointing later recording (also EMI). Wetton thus invests the score with greater power and dignity. The whole work hangs together much more effectively here than in either earlier recording (although I would not want to be without the Willcocks version, especially for the unsurpassed conclusion "Ring out, ye crystal spheres": one of the best moments in all Vaughan Williams).

Another advantage here is the recording (made at Cadogan Hall, London). It is much clearer than the Willcocks or Hickox versions, with the organ making a much more audible contribution. Janice Watson, Peter Hoare and Stephen Gadd are outstanding soloists and all credit to the Guildford Choral Society and RPO and their conductor. Paradoxically, the performance of Fantasia on Christmas Carols is, perhaps, not as effective as the Barry Rose version coupled with the Willcocks recording of Hodie and Naxos don't provide any texts (unlike EMI with the Willcocks recording), which is a drawback, although they are available online.

In conclusion, this is a great CD, especially as it is so inexpensive. In this performance, my attention was gripped throughout and any longeurs were much less apparent. Hodie contains some great music (the setting of Hardy's "The Oxen" for example) and is a remarkably inspiriting and life-affirming celebration of Christmas from the octogenarian composer.

Don't hesitate!

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Vaughan Williams: Choral Works
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Vaughan Williams: Fantasia On Christmas Carols, Hodie
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