Sir Charles Villiers Stanford: Symphony No. 1/Irish Rhapsody No. 2

On this CD:

1. Symphony No. 1 in B flat
Composed by Charles Villiers Stanford
Performed by Ulster Orchestra
Conducted by Vernon Handley

2. Irish Rhapsody for orchestra No 2 in F Minor, Op 84 ("The Lament for the Son of Ossian")
Composed by Charles Villiers Stanford
Performed by Ulster Orchestra
Conducted by Vernon Handley

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford: Symphony No. 1/Irish Rhapsody No. 2, Music, Charles Villiers Stanford, Vernon Handley, Ulster Orchestra, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Orchestral, Romantic Rhapsody for Orchestra, Romantic Symphony, Symphonic

Average customer rating:

Another lost Victorian Classic

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford: Symphony No. 1/Irish Rhapsody No. 2

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Romantic | Symphonies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Stanford: Symphony No. 2 in D minor; Clarinet Concerto

ASIN: B000000AP6
Release Date: 1992-10-28

Tracks:

Symphony No. 1 In B Flat Major: I. Larghetto - Allegro vivace
Symphony No. 1 In B Flat Major: II. Scherzo: In Landler tempo - Trio 1: Presto - Trio 2: Poco piu lento
Symphony No. 1 In B Flat Major: III. Andante tranquillo
Symphony No. 1 In B Flat Major: IV. Finale. Allegro molto
Irish Rhapsody No. 2 In F Minor Op. 84, 'The Lament For The Son Of Ossian'

Customer Reviews:

Another lost Victorian Classic.......1998-11-18

Sir Charles Villiers-Stanford is not well known today, but a century ago he was in his prime as one of the best known and most respected Irish composers of the Victorian Era. While his choral works have endured, intertwined as they are with the Church of England, his orchestral works have been heard by few. So it is with this first recording of his First Symphony. If the liner notes are to be believed, this is the piece's first recording, I paid more for it (disregarding inflation) than the composer received for it, and I have already listened to it more times than it was played in the composer's lifetime. Which is all a shame.

Critics, particularly early in this century, have derided Stanford as a clone of Brahms, yet this work was created for a competition in the same years as Brahms' own First Symphony. Certainly parts of this work sound "Brahmsian," but I believe that this is more a case of common inspiration (Schumann) than mimicry.

Best of the first symphony are the last two movements. The third is a lovely andante with a neat little fugue embedded. The fourth is a rollicking corker in which Stanford's own musical voice is most clearly heard, jigging, jumping and spinning through a Celtic musical landscape to a conclusion which Dvorak could have written. The included second Irish Rhapsody pays homage to Brahms "Hungarian Rhapsodies" in its beginning notes, but then follows it's own path through the folk tunes with are the hallmark of a ethnic rhapsody. I am certain that Stanford had Brahms' footsteps in sight when he wrote this piece. Stanford's First is not the best of his seven symphonies, but Handley does as good a job as he does with the others in the Chandos Stanford cycle, and I find myself listening again and again.

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