Bax: Chamber Music for Harp

On this CD:

1. Valse for solo harp
Composed by Arnold (Sir) Bax
Performed by Marcia Dickstein

2. In Memoriam, for english horn, harp & string quartet
Composed by Arnold (Sir) Bax
Performed by Marcia Dickstein, Rene Mandel, Leslie Reed

3. Fantasy-sonata for viola & harp
Composed by Arnold (Sir) Bax
Performed by Marcia Dickstein, Evan Wilson

4. Quintet for harp & strings (in one movement)
Composed by Arnold (Sir) Bax
Performed by Marcia Dickstein, Rene Mandel

5. Sonate for flute & harp
Composed by Arnold (Sir) Bax
Performed by Marcia Dickstein, Angela Wiegand

Tracks:

Symphony In G Minor: Vivace - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Clear And Gentle Stream - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
The Shropshire Lad: Loveliest Of Trees - Christopher Maltman
Two Aquarelles: Gaily, But Not Quick - David Lloyd-Jones
Summer Music - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
In The Wood: Adagio - Nicholas Daniel
Sospiri - English Northern Philharmonia
As You Like It: Under The Greenwood Tree - Andrew Penny
Egdon Heath - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
On Wenlock Edge - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Like As The Hart - Choir Of St. John's College, Cambridge
Alla Marcia - Maggini Quartet
A Cotswold Hill Tune - David Lloyd-Jones
Vivace - Andrew Penny
Andantino - Andrew Penny
Con Moto - Andrew Penny
Allegro Ma Non Troppo - Andrew Penny

Album Description

A delightful selection of English music with a pastoral theme featuring several individual tracks from award winning discs in the British Music series. Performed by the elite of British artists such as the Maggini Quartet, the Choir of St. John's College Cambridge and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under David Lloyd-Jones.

Bax: Quintet for Harp & Strings / Sonata Flute & Harp

Average customer rating:

simply a pleasure
Great Music, Great Performances
BOUNTIFUL BAX

Bax: Quintet for Harp & Strings / Sonata Flute & Harp
Ashan Pillai
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Bax: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
String Quartet 3 / Lyrical Interlude / Adagio
Walton: Piano Quartet / String Quartet
Bax: Octet/String Quintet/Concerto/Threnody & Scherzo/In Memoriam
Bax: Symphony No. 6; Into the Twilight; Summer Music

ASIN: B00004U2KM
Release Date: 2000-09-26

Tracks:

Qnt: Tempo Moderato -
Qnt: Tranquillo -
Qnt: Tempo Primo -
Elegiac Trio: Moderate Tempo
Fant Son: Allegro Molto
Fant Son: Allegro Moderato
Fant Son: Lento Espressivo
Fant Son: Allegro
Son: Allegro Moderato
Son: Lento
Son: Moderato Giocoso

Customer Reviews:

simply a pleasure.......2005-08-04

This recording contains chamber works featuring a harp. All of the pieces are pleasant to listen to and have stimulating content. The recording is very good. This CD was my first experience with Bax and has certainly inspired me to look for more.

Great Music, Great Performances.......2001-02-03

At the centre of all the pieces on this disc is the harp.

Bax writes wonderfully for the instrument - his inspiration possibly lying in the supposed `Irishness' of it, possibly in the luck he had of having some very good harpists to write for - the fantasy sonata (the combination of viola and harp really works well, and Bax manages to avoid an over lush sound) and the sonata for flute and harp having been written for the Russian harpist, Maria Korchinska.

I must admit, as I listened to the CD I found it very hard to think of Ireland - and very easy to think of France and Europe in the early 20th century. Maybe this is why I mobius have been attracted to the music.

The performances are excellent (as is the recording) bringing a dignity to the music which forces one to reassess, in a way, the nationalistic trivialisms that are all too often attached to Bax's music.

As the notes point out - some of this sounds very like Debussy - but it was written before. Some of it sounds like Britten too. If you like either of those two composers - you'll love this.

BOUNTIFUL BAX.......2001-02-01

What better music to opine about than the latest Naxos endeavor comprising some mighty fine chamber music for harp by Arnold Bax (1883-1953). Purchased a mere week ago, I've been listening to it ceaselessly--- as it fits my rather lachrimose state of mind perfectly.

Among these four outstandingly evocative, elegiac and beautiful compositions, there's nary a dud to be found.

The Elegiac Trio for Harp, Viola and Flute--- first performed in 1917--- runs a mere 8:47, but it is a real gem... and easily worth the price of the CD, alone. Heartfelt, atmospheric, luminous, the Trio ranks very close to perfection in every way. The combination of instruments, each bringing to the work its own voice and color and warmth, is simply magical.

Ditto for the gorgeous Fantasy Sonata for Harp and Viola, first performed in 1927, whose third movement "Lento" is one of the most gentle of Bax inspirations I've ever heard. There is a distinct Anglo/Irish impressionism here--- and throughout the other works, as well--- so tender and romantic, yet so sad... it's impossible to resist.

The Sonata for Flute and Harp, performed in 1928, is yet another gem, unfolding as it does with the ambience of an Irish countryside. At its heart is the particularly wistful slow movement. Kudos to flautist Lorna McGhee for her tender, poetic playing.

Lastly, the Quintet for Harp and Strings (written in 1919) is a co-joined, three movement work. Generally more "dramatic" than its sisters, the Quintet still retains an obvious Bax melancholy, its overall tone introspective. Harpist Alison Nicholls is to be commended for her delicacy of touch and sense of mystery.

What an outstanding bargain this CD is! A real find. Moody, appealing, accessible. Compliments to the members of Mobius, who play splendidly, and to the engineers who have captured their warmth and immediacy so well.

[Running time: 65:11]

Bax: Octet/String Quintet/Concerto/Threnody & Scherzo/In Memoriam

Average customer rating:

Bax's Sunny Side

Bax: Octet/String Quintet/Concerto/Threnody & Scherzo/In Memoriam

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Sextets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Bax: Nonet; Oboe Quintet; Elegiac Trio
Bax: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Bax: Quintet for Harp & Strings / Sonata Flute & Harp
String Quartet 3 / Lyrical Interlude / Adagio
Bax: The Symphonies

ASIN: B000005Z6K
Release Date: 1998-03-17

Tracks:

Octet For Horn, Piano & String Sextet: I. Meditation: Molto moderato
Octet For Horn, Piano & String Sextet: II. Scherzo: Allegro
String Quintet: Allegro moderato
Concerto For Flute, Oboe, Harp And String Quartet (Septet): I Allegro moderato
Concerto For Flute, Oboe, Harp And String Quartet (Septet): II Cavatina: Lento
Concerto For Flute, Oboe, Harp And String Quartet (Septet): III Moderato giocoso
Threnody And Scherzo For Bassoon, Harp & String Sextet: I Threnody: Poco lento
Threnody And Scherzo For Bassoon, Harp & String Sextet: II Scherzo: Allegro
In Memoriam (1916) For Cor anglais, Harp And String Quartet: Lento moderato - Molto tranquillo

Customer Reviews:

Bax's Sunny Side.......2003-05-05

Aficionados associate Sir Arnold Bax (1883 - 1953) with orchestral music, especially with the symphony, of which he wrote seven, not including a number of works that qualify as symphonies in all but name. Yet Bax also wrote a good deal of keyboard music - four piano sonatas, many solo sketches, and a Sonata for Two Pianos - and much ensemble music. The chamber-music scores sometimes correspond to classical models, more or less. The three string quartets are collectively a good example: the first two are in three and the third in four movements. Otherwise, Bax preferred a broken or mixed ensemble and might propose a work in a single, tone-poem-like movement or in two symmetrical panels. The group of works anthologized on the Chandos disc currently under discussion exemplifies the observation and shows how, when he worked with a largish broken consort for his palette, Bax could blur the distinction between chamber music and orchestral music. The instrumentation of the Octet (written 1934 and first performed 1936) is: French horn, piano, and string sextet - horn and piano providing much of the score's distinctive color. The two movements are a slow "Meditation" (Molto Moderato) and a fast "Scherzo" (Allegro). In the "Meditation," the horn gives out languorous song, imitated by the keyboard and by the strings, which forms the basis of the movement; the atmosphere often resembles that of the "Lento" of the Third Symphony, where again the solo horn plays a central role. Bax establishes the "Scherzo" on hunting-calls, with lots of scurrying motion in the keyboard-and-strings support. The String Quintet (written 1933 and first performed 1935) for two violins, two violas, and cello, unlike the three quartets, presents itself as a single-movement work of some compression. (It lasts a little more than eleven minutes in the recording.) The texture is more complicated than in the Octet, despite the comparatively homogeneous palette. Both thematically and structurally the Quintet indeed resembles orchestral works such as the tone-poems "November Woods" or "The Tale the Pine Trees Knew." The plan might be described as "Calm - Storm - Return to Calm." Few people think of Bax under the idea of terseness, but the Quintet qualifies for that adjective. It is a pithy and memorable work. The Concerto for Flute, Oboe, Harp, and String Quartet (sometimes also called Septet, 1936) shares with the Octet a delight in instrumental color; conforming to the expectations inherent in its longer name, it unfolds over three movements - "Allegro Moderato," "Lento," and "Moderato Giocoso." The dour moods of the Quintet fall by the wayside: the temperament of the Concerto is lively and endearing throughout - Bax at his most positive and extrovert. Ravel and Debussy had pioneered ensemble music using winds and harp and Bax builds on a decidedly French esthetic in these three lovely movements. The two-panel Threnody and Scherzo (1936) for Bassoon, Harp, and String Sextet with Double Bass is another octet although not so dubbed. Bax wrote prolifically. According to the booklet notes, he forgot about the Threnody and Scherzo after the first performance and later could hardly recall having written it. Even so, it endears: the Hellenic atmosphere carries over from the Concerto, the oboe lending a somewhat darker hue to the prevailing atmosphere and endowing the proceedings with occasional hints at grotesquery. Bax never stints in his music: he seems to pour as much of himself into minor, even throw-away scores as he does into his big, public ones, like the symphonies. The last item on the program, "In Memoriam," is the earliest - having been written in 1916 in the aftermath of the Irish rebellion and the British settlement thereof, in which several of Bax's Irish friends lost their lives. It belongs to the "Celtic Twilight" that Bax cultivated before 1920 or so. This fine CD adds significantly to a collector's appreciation of Bax. There is a complementary CD on Hyperion, featuring the Nonet, roughly contemporary with the Octet. Recommended.

Average customer rating:

Great British Orchestral Classics

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000AA4JCA
Release Date: 2005-09-20

Tracks:

Prelude - Academy Of St Martin In The Fields
Fugue - Academy Of St Martin In The Fields
The Lark Ascending - Michael Davis
Jig - City Of London Sinfonia
The Banks Of Green Willow - London Symphony Orchestra
Chanson De Matin - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Popular Song - London Philharmonic Orchestra
633 Squadron - BBC Philharmonic
March - BBC Philharmonic
Tam O' Shanter - BBC Philharmonic
Salut D'Amour - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Fantasia on 'Greensleeves' - London Symphony Orchestra
On Hearing The First Cuckoo in Spring - London Philharmonic Orchestra
Jupiter - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Fugue - Bournemouth Sinfonietta

Tracks:

Crown Imperial (Coronation March) - Philharmonia Orchestra
Cello Concerto, Movement I (Extract) - Ralph Kirshbaum
Playful Pizzicato - I Musici De Montreal
The Holy Boy - English Chamber Orchestra
Nimrod - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Seascape - Ulster Orchestra
Basse-Danse - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
The Londonderry Air - Ulster Orchestra
Allegro Piacevole - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Summer Night On The River - London Philharmonic Orchestra
Dawn - Ulster Orchestra
Tintagel - Ulster Orchestra
March - BBC Philharmonic
Pomp And Circumstance March No.1 - Royal Scottish National Orchestra

Average customer rating:

the gentle side of Arnold Bax

Bax: Nonet; Oboe Quintet; Elegiac Trio

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Nonets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Bax: Octet/String Quintet/Concerto/Threnody & Scherzo/In Memoriam
The Chamber Music of Malcolm Arnold, Vol. 1
Walton: Piano Quartet / String Quartet
String Quartet 3 / Lyrical Interlude / Adagio
Bax: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2

ASIN: B000002ZWF
Release Date: 1996-03-11

Tracks:

Nonet: Molto Moderato - Lento
Nonet: Allegro - Lento Espressivo
Ob Qnt: Tempo Molto Moderato-Allegro Moderato-Tempo Primo
Obh Qnt: Lento Espressivo
Oboe Quintet: Allegro Giocoso - Piu Lento - Vivace
Elegiac Trio: Moderate Tempo-Much Slower
Cl Son: Molto Moderato
Cl Son: vivace - Pochettino Meno Posso (Lento)
Hp Qnt: Tempo Moderato

Amazon.com

This is a very generous collection of the chamber works of Arnold Bax (1883-1953), one of the 20th century favorites of Anglophile music lovers. If you like Bax's late-impressionist style, it's a very attractive collection indeed. The performances are all extremely well played, and the musicians sound as though they had been playing these pieces for years instead of having learned them for a recording session. Hyperion's recording is typically vivid as well. In sum, presuming the music appeals, this is a flawless disc. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

the gentle side of Arnold Bax.......2007-01-16

The lyrical intimacy of these chamber works of Arnold Bax are quite a contrast from his massive symphonies & tone poems. In fact, if I'd listened to this disc in a blindfold test I'm not sure I would have guessed who the composer was. Despite the fact that most of the music has an elegiac quality to it - from the haunting opening of the Nonet, to the Harp Quintet - the writing & instrumentation results in a disc of refreshing variety & inspiration. In short, there is plenty of substance to these pieces; & while things never get too relaxed, the overall atmosphere is one of peace & contentment. The programming is exceptional as the compositions work very well together; their order of placement was also well thought out as each flows very well with the next.

The Nash Ensemble is a first rate group that has made many recordings & Hyperion has provided excellent sound. It's hard to believe that this is the first Amazon review of this exceptional release, which Grammophone's reviewer considered nominating for a "Critic's Choice" award in 1995. I put this at the top of my English chamber music cd's.

Average customer rating:

Lullaby Classics

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Preludes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Lullabies & Berceuse | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0002H2R4S
Release Date: 2004-08-24

Tracks:

Clair De Lune - Ulster Orchestra
Andante - London Mozart Players
Aquarium - David Owen Norris
Lullaby - Eric Parkin
Gymnopedie No.1 - John Anderson
From Foreign Lands And People - Howard Shelley
Julia Florida - Craig Ogden
Le Dernier Sommeil De La Vierge - BBC Philharmonic
Idylle - Susan Milan
Air - Adrian Shepherd
Preghiera - Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Holy Boy - English Chamber Orchestra
Culy Locks - BBC Philharmonic
Lullaby - London Symphony Orchestra
Berceuse - BBC Philharmonic
Allegretto Grazioso - Luba Edlina
Recuerdos De La Alhambra - Craig Ogden
Pied-En-L'Air - Bournemouth Sinfonietta

Tracks:

Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy - Scottish National Orchestra
Canticle - Craig Ogden
Noel - Craig Ogden
The Swan - I Musici De Montreal
Eventide - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Pastoral - City Of London Sinfonia
Lento - Janet Hilton
Canon In D Major - Adrian Shepherd
Sheep May Safely Graze - BBC Philharmonic
Largo - Ronald Thomas
No.3 - John Lill
Slumber Song - Peter Wallfisch
Serenade - Bournemouth Sinfonietta
Summertime - John Anderson
The Mother's Son - Craig Ogden
Allegro - London Philharmonic
Mother - I Musici De Montreal
Melodie-Elegie - Peter Dixon
Child Falling Asleep - Howard Shelley
Air - City Of London Sinfonia
Fantasia On Greensleeves - BBC Philharmonic
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin - Miceal O'Rourke

Average customer rating:

more availability

Garten von Freuden und Traurigkeit

Manufacturer: Cavalli
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Duets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00005KATF
Release Date: 2001-05-29

Customer Reviews:

more availability.......2007-07-10

I had a very hard time finding a copy of this CD! I ordered it at another store and it never came in. I was glad to find it here. The piece I was looking for is the Sofia Gubaidulina "Garden of Joy and Sorrow" which is one of the most idiomatic works of that Russian composer melding western and eastern musical elements and compositional philosophy. All of the works are well performed and beautiful.

Bax: The Bard of the Dimbovitza; In Memoriam; Concertante for Piano and Orchestra

Average customer rating:

A polished Bax residuum

Bax: The Bard of the Dimbovitza; In Memoriam; Concertante for Piano and Orchestra

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

In Memoriam: In Memoriam - Slow And Restrained In Expression
Concertante For Piano (Left Hand) And Orchestra: I. Allegro moderato
Concertante For Piano (Left Hand) And Orchestra: II. Moderato tranquillo
Concertante For Piano (Left Hand) And Orchestra: III. Rondo: Allegro moderato
The Bard of Dimbovitza: 1. Gypsy Song
The Bard of Dimbovitza: 2. The Well of Tears
The Bard of Dimbovitza: 3. Misconception
The Bard of Dimbovitza: 4. My Girdle I Hung On A Tree-top Tall
The Bard of Dimbovitza: 5. Spinning Song

Amazon.com

Presently Chandos of England is the only label giving Sir Arnold Bax any currency. It has recorded nearly all of Bax's music, nearly all of it well done. Credit goes to conductors such as the late Bryden Thomson as well as Vernon Handley, who helms the present collection. This disc contains the premiere recordings of a tone poem, a work for piano and orchestra, and a work for mezzo-soprano and orchestra--Bax in three wonderful dimensions. Handley brings a tad more warmth to Bax's music than Thomson (who deftly captured Bax's darker aspects, especially in the symphonies); but the greatest credit must go to Chandos and its state-of-the-art recording technology. Bax enthusiasts will want this disc; newcomers won't find a better introduction. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

A polished Bax residuum.......2000-03-17

This is a first class CD in every way. It has 76+ minutes of premiere recordings of this composer whose name is becoming more and more mainstream. A friend tells me that 'Spring Fire' is now appearing on US concert programs and for that fact alone I am delighted. The only negative thing about this CD is that the three items are unconnected in every way and on the titles alone this may give the CD a certain 'motley' feel. I felt this as a negative gut reaction when considering purchasing the CD and I am so glad I overcame it. The opening work 'In Memorium' is not aptly named in my opinion. It will be recalled that Bax had similar problems with his Northern Ballad Number 3. 'In Memoriam' was written in the period of his life when he had just finished 'The Garden of Fand' and at the height of his powers in terms of pure inspiration. The music amd melody just gushed out of him at this time, this formidable skill as a phenomenon was a need to compose, not as later on when he was scatching his head in a Sussex pub trying to do a something for Royalty in his capacity of 'Master of the King's Musik'. This is total irony, the idea of Bax, the ultimate 'unashamed romantic' as a composer putting together Hanoverian processionals under peine dure et forte. The youthful passion of the 'Fand' years is depicted throughout this 15 minute work with one of those memorable Bax tunes that he later used as the Mr Brownlow theme in his musical score to David Lean's 'Oliver Twist'. Like the 'Fand' or the 'Coastal Command: Dawn Patrol' themes it is bitter sweet, reaching up slowly and the harmonies become more twisted as the theme attempts to over reach itself and falls back into a gentle sunset ending. The second work on the CD is a late work composed for his ancienne girl friend Harriet Cohen in 1948 (he had been with Mary Gleaves for about 20 years already)when she had damaged her right hand. It is well written and skilfully crafted, you would never guess ot was for one hand only. It is another stab at the British love affair with the piano and orchestra in the 1930-1940s. With the movoe scores like Addinsell's 'Warsaw Concerto' and Hubert Bath to the more serious John Ireland and Dyson, the romantic piano concerto exercised a fascination for the British public and this was an attempt, to my mind at least, for Bax to throw his hat into the ring of the flavor of that period. The work lacks the fire of his youth but his musicianship sees him through and this work, whilst not of his first calibre, is still pure Bax and worth an ocassional performance. The Bard of the Dimbovitza is a setting of five songs for mezzo soprano and orchestra to Romanian Folk Poetry. Bax does not imitate Romanian music any more than he grafts the reel or the jig into his symphonies. He sublimates the source of inspiration and produces a work of art that is personal and unique to him. The songs are all water colors of little dramas like Shostakovich's 'from Jewish Folk Poetry'. These songs are splendid and as character pieces they will delight with their folk color assisted by Bax's orchestration. The work has been unjustly ignored until the centenary in 1983 and then again until this recording. I hope many will hear its quality and enjoy its fresh vitality from Bax's prolific early 1920's period. Brilliantly played and recorded thoughout.