The Dream of Gerontius, Op.38 / Pt. 1
1.Prelude
2.Jesu, Maria, I am near to death
3.Kyrie eleison
4.Rouse thee, my fainting soul
5.Be merciful, be gracious
6.Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus
7.I can no more; for now it comes again
8.Rescue him, O Lord
9.Novissima hora est
10.Proficiscere, anima Christiana
11.Go, in the name of Angels and Archangels

The Dream of Gerontius, Op.38 / Pt. 2
12.Introduction
13.I went to sleep
14.My work is done, my task is o'er
15.Low-born clods of brute earth
16.The mind bold and independent
17.I see not those false spirits
18.Praise to the Holiest
19.Glory to him
20.But hark! A grand mysterious harmony
21.And now the threshold as we traverse it
22.Praise to the Holiest in the height
23.Thy judgement now is near
24.Jesu! by that shuddering dread which fell on Thee
25.Praise to His name!
26.Take me away!
27.Lord, Thou hast been our refuge
28.Softly and gently, dearly ransomed soul

Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano – The Angel)
Andrew Staples (tenor - Gerontius)
Thomas Hampson (baritone – The Priest/The Angel of the Agony)
Staatsopernchor
RIAS Kammerchor
Konzertchor und Jugendchor der Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Staatskapelle Berlin
Daniel Barenboim – conductor

rec. live, 19 & 20 September 2016, Philharmonie, Berlin.

This recording of The Dream of Gerontius was made at two performances in Berlin last September. I had the good fortune to attend the first of them to review the concert for Seen and Heard. As I mentioned in that review, there were a number of changes to the roster of soloists that that had been originally announced. One of these was the absence of Jonas Kaufmann who was scheduled to sing the title role; he was compelled to withdraw due to the indisposition that prevented him from singing for the second half of 2016. Notwithstanding all the changes of soloists I still heard a memorable account of Elgar’s masterpiece that evening so I was delighted to receive these discs for review. Incidentally, I have studiously avoided re-reading my concert review because I wanted to approach the recording as independently as possible, not least because what one hears on disc is likely to be rather different, for example in terms of balance, to what one experiences live in the hall.

Andrew Staples was engaged at short notice to replace another ailing colleague who was to have been Kaufmann’s replacement. I don’t know how much time Staples and Barenboim had for rehearsal but I don’t recall any hints of ‘last-minute’ on the night and that’s certainly not the case on disc. Staples’ tone is clear and very focussed. His may not be the most opulent of voices but it’s well-suited to this role. He has sufficient heft for the big moments such as ‘Sanctus fortis’ and ‘Take me away’ but he also shows great finesse in the passages that call for a lighter touch, such as the dialogue with the Angel in Part II. For obvious reasons I couldn’t follow the live performance in my score but doing so now, while listening to the CDs, I admired Staples’ great accuracy. Not only is he most attentive to Elgar’s copious dynamic markings but he’s also pretty scrupulous about note values, not least in sustaining notes to their full value at the ends of phrases. It sounds like a small point but many singers don’t always do that. His is a reading of great intelligence: he clearly understands the text and he enunciates it with great clarity.

His first entry, ‘Jesu, Maria, I am near to death’, is very well inflected but he catches the change of mood to resolution at ‘Rouse thee, my fainting soul’. ‘Sanctus, fortis’ is impressively done. Barenboim introduces a good deal of rubato to enhance the expressive singing of his soloist. I admire the attention to matters of dynamic detail that Andrew Staples brings – such as at ‘Father, Son and Holy Ghost’. I like very much his plangent and expressive delivery at ‘Novissima hora est’. This is one example of a passage where, arguably, Paul Groves achieves even greater expression and inwardness on the Mark Elder recording (review). However, it must be remembered not only that Groves was working under studio conditions but also that he had had more notice of the assignment – and had sung the role for Elder before. Staples’ contribution to Part II is just as distinguished. He conveys a sense of wonderment in the first few minutes and his engagement with the Angel is a genuine dialogue. I admire very much his account of ‘Take me away’. Here Barenboim shapes the music in long, expressive phrases, adopting a broad tempo. That must have been taxing for Staples at the end of the evening but it doesn’t show. Overall I think his performance represents a considerable achievement and I’m very glad that it’s been preserved on disc.

Catherine Wyn-Rogers has already recorded the role of the Angel; she took part in the January 1993 recording conducted by Vernon Handley. When that recording was reissued some years ago I made this comment in my review: “When the recording first appeared the distinguished critic, Alan Blyth, writing in Gramophone was one who was critical of Catherine Wyn-Rogers. I have to say that I disagreed with this view and, broadly I still do, though on reflection I think I see what Blyth was getting at. Where he heard nerves and an as-yet incomplete interpretation I hear a simple, straightforward delivery of the text and the notes. However, I’m not sure that Wyn-Rogers quite conveys the full range of emotion required for the Angel.” Listening once more to that recording and comparing it to the new version I can now hear what commentators such as Alan Blyth felt was missing. I still admire much about the earlier performance – not least the freshness of the voice – but this 2016 performance is in a completely different league.

With the benefit of another 23 years’ experience behind her Miss Wyn-Rogers brings great maturity and sensitivity to her interpretation. The sound of the voice itself gives great pleasure and in terms of role assumption she now far surpasses her younger self. I’m so glad that this fine artist got a second chance at recording Gerontius. No doubt encouraged by the presence on the rostrum of such a great and supportive conductor as Barenboim, she seems liberated and she brings great feeling and many subtle nuances to the music. It helps too that her voice sounds more immediate on this new recording: in 1993 her singing rather echoed round a presumably empty Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. For Barenboim she sings ‘A presage falls upon thee’ radiantly, the music generously phrased by Barenboim. Later she brings wonderful eloquence to ‘There was a mortal’ although I do wonder if in this episode she’s perhaps just a fraction too emphatic in her delivery of ‘Such that the Master’s very wounds’. The celebrated Farewell is very moving. Barenboim adopts a significantly broader tempo than Handley did and Miss Wyn-Rogers responds to this expansive approach with singing that is dedicated and wonderfully consoling. I’ve enjoyed hearing her sing many times both live and on disc but I don’t think I’ve heard her do anything better than this committed and eloquent performance. I remember that at the end of the performance I attended, after the conductor and soloists had been presented with bouquets Barenboim took one flower from his own bouquet and presented it to Miss Wyn-Rogers. It was a lovely gesture and re-hearing her performance now it’s one that I don’t find at all surprising.

Thomas Hampson was the sole survivor of the originally-announced cast of soloists. He is a singer who I’ve long admired but I have to say I was slightly underwhelmed by his contribution, especially as the Priest. The other two soloists were placed in the conventional position by the conductor’s rostrum but Hampson’s place was behind the orchestra, immediately in front of the chorus and right in the centre of the platform. Actually, this is quite a fitting arrangement, at least for the first solo, since the Priest is leading the chorus in their intercessions for the Soul of Gerontius. However, this positioning meant that Hampson had to project his voice over quite a distance – though no further than would be the case in the opera house. He’s imposing as the Priest but I find him a bit too forceful for my taste: one has the impression that the Soul of Gerontius is being sent on its way emphatically. On the Elder set Bryn Terfel is similarly big-voiced but I hear rather more light and shade in his delivery. Also in this solo, more than in his second solo, I found some of Hampson’s pronunciation distinctly odd given that he’s an Anglophone singer. I can only assume this is connected to the vowels he’s using. He’s better as the Angel of the Agony for which a big imposing style is even more appropriate. In this solo he’s commanding when called for but also expressive.

Barenboim had a professional chorus at his disposal and it shows. The choir sings the English words very well; one is aware at times that this is not an Anglophone group but not to any degree that matters. What does matter is the responsiveness and incisiveness of their singing. As one would expect from professionals, they’re highly attentive to dynamics – ‘Holy Mary, pray for me’ in Part I is just the earliest example of this. I appreciate the fervour of their attack at ‘Rescue him’ and they’re absolutely splendid in the closing chorus of Part I. They’re very dynamic – as is the orchestra – in the Demons’ Chorus and very incisive in the fugal section ‘Dispossessed’, a passage that Barenboim takes at a surprisingly steady pace. I like the pure sound of the women’s voices as the Angelicals - all the voice parts register clearly. The build-up to ‘Praise to the Holiest’ is fervently done and the start of the chorus itself is a thrilling moment; thereafter the choir’s attention to detail, not least in matters of dynamics, ensures that the following pages don’t flag.

The playing of the Staatskapelle Berlin impressed me greatly on the night. Now that I have the chance to savour it on CD my admiration is even greater. The corporate sound is richly hued and very satisfying to hear. The orchestra is also supple and flexible, qualities that are vital in Elgar. And when necessary they can turn on the power too. I’m sure it helps that they’ve played Elgar’s music before with Barenboim – the quality of the playing on their recordings of the two symphonies is superb (review). Here the orchestral playing is as fine as I can recall hearing in a recording of Gerontius.

Daniel Barenboim’s conducting of the score is most interesting. I don’t agree with everything he does but overall I find him very convincing. He is by no means afraid to adopt an expansive tempo when he feels that the music calls for it. At the very start of the work, for example, the metronome marking in the score is crotchet = 60. Barenboim is significantly slower than that – he’s closer to 40 beats to the minute. That said, Sir Mark Elder is only a fraction quicker and in any case I don’t think it matters. What does matter is that Barenboim – and Elder also – establishes a sense of mystery right from the start. Moreover, the slow speed notwithstanding, there’s tension in the air from the outset.

Though his speeds may be broad at times – and perhaps broader than a good number of the other conductors who have recorded the work - Barenboim seems to me to convey extremely well the spirit of the music. Sometimes I was mildly disconcerted by a speed which is a bit more expansive than I’m accustomed to hearing but on almost every one of these occasions Barenboim convinces. In any case, whenever Barenboim’s pacing of the work was a bit different to what I’m used to hearing he made me think about the music and that’s an entirely good thing. Only once do I part company with him: when he pulls back the speed very significantly on three occasions early on in the Demons’ Chorus. The second and third of those are marked in the vocal score but I’ve never experienced the brakes being applied so strongly. For me it impedes the urgency of the music and I think it was a miscalculation by this masterly conductor. Otherwise, however, I think his direction is sure footed and that his deeply felt interpretation is clearly the result of careful thought about the work and about Elgar style: one would expect nothing less from this great musician.. It’s perhaps no coincidence that he – like Elder – is such a fine operatic conductor for this is a performance that certainly brings out the drama of Elgar’s score.

The Decca recording is very good. The wide dynamic range achieved by the performers has been faithfully represented. There’s plenty of body to the sound and detail registers very well.

The Dream of Gerontius has been lucky on disc and there are already a number of notable recordings. This deeply considered and superbly performed account is worthy to rank with the finest. ---John Quinn, musicweb-international.com

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Sea Pictures, Mvt. 1: Sea slumber: Andantino5:21
Sea Pictures, Mvt. 2: In Haven: Allegretto1:52
Sea Pictures, Mvt. 3: Sabbath morning at sea: Moderato - Grandioso5:22
Sea Pictures, Mvt. 4: Where corals lie: Allegretto ma non troppo3:47	play
Sea Pictures, Mvt. 5: The Swimmer: Allegro di molto5:29

Janet Baker – alto
London Symphony Orchestra
John Barbirolli – conductor

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) is a late Romantic English composer. His father was a Catholic music shop owner. As a child, he took violin lessons and began composing at age ten. He supplemented his (meager) income from composing by teaching and playing organ and violin. Despite his humble beginnings, he garnered much acclaim as a composer. The University of Cambridge bestowed upon him an honorary doctorate in 1900, and he received the Order of Merit in 1911. His wife died in 1920, at which time he retired.

Sea Pictures (1899) is a song cycle composed for a contralto accompanied by an orchestra. It was the first work he wrote after his work became well-known.

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01 Ave verum, motet for chorus, Op. 2/1  - 2:49
02 Ave Maria gratia plena, motet for chorus, Op. 2/2  - 2:53
03 Ave maris stella, motet for chorus, Op. 2/3  - 4:32 ( with William Carslake, treble)
04 The Angelus, partsong for chorus, Op. 56/1  - 3:21
05 II Sing the birth, carol for chorus  - 4:44 (with Jonathan Milton, Jeffrey Gray, Ian Bell)
06 Lo! Christ the Lord is Born, carol for chorus  - 2:05
07 Psalm 48 "Great is the Lord," anthem for chorus & organ (or orchestra), Op. 67  - 9:36
08 Ecce sacerdos magnus, gradual for chorus & orchestra (or organ)  - 3:05
09 O Salutaris Hostia I, for chorus & organ in F major  - 2:07
10 OO Salutaris Hostia II, for chorus & organ in E flat major  - 3:06
11 O Salutaris Hostia III, for voice & organ  - 2:52
12 Fear not, O Land, harvest anthem for chorus & organ  - 3:39
13 O Hearken Thou, offertory for chorus, organ & orchestra, Op. 64  - 4:28
14 Give unto the Lord (Psalm 29), anthem for chorus, organ & orchestra ad lib, Op. 74  - 9:05

Thomas Hunt (Bass)
Adrian Partington (Organ)
Worcester Cathedral Choir
Donald Hunt – conductor

It was in Christopher Robinson's time as organist that the Choristers of Worcester Cathedral made that capital record of Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands (recorded 1974; Chandos, 9/94), so a comparable offering from the same source naturally earns a sympathetic hearing. And it surely does not disappoint, for here is a choir that brings not only the customary high professionalism but has an unusually sensitive responsiveness to direction and sings with gusto.

Comparison with its later self, under Donald Hunt, is inevitable and might be embarrassing, but the fine standard has been maintained and there is nothing to fear either way as far as performance is concerned. Some differences arise, certainly, in the items which the two records have in common, as in the fascinating piece called Angelus, written in Italy in 1909: the later recording has fine delicacy and cohesion, while the earlier one highlights the altos' two-note ostinato of "Ave, Mary". But a difference becomes clear straight away concerning recorded sound. Hyperion's team place us at a distance, while the EMI 1969 sound is immediate, the choir's presence vivid and personal. I much prefer it.

In addition to the choral pieces are two pieces for organ. The Vesper Voluntaries of 1889 are short and not very remarkable, but the First Organ Sonata (1895) is a major work and magnificently played by Herbert Sumsion, then nearly 70. As has no doubt been said before, it is questionably written for organ: there are passages better suited to piano, others to a salon group, and perhaps the whole thing to orchestra. Still, it is rich in ideas and played with such mastery (surely ranging through all the solo stops of the Gloucester organ) that it holds the attention throughout. Altogether a welcome and unanticipated addition to this invaluable series. -- Gramophone [11/1996], arkivmusic.com

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Variations On An Original Theme,Op.36 'Enigma'
1. Enigma, Andante
2. Var. I (C.A.E.) L'Istesso Tempo
3. Var. II (H.D.S.-P.) Allegro
4. Var. III (R.B.T.) Allegretto
5. Var. IV (W.M.B.) Allegro Di Molto
6. Var. V (R.P.A.) Moderato
7. Var. VI (Ysobel) Andatino
8. Var. VII (Troyte) Presto
9. Var. VIII (W.N.) Allegretto
10. Var. IX (Nimrod) Adagio
11. Var. X Intermezzo (Dorabella) Allegretto
12. Var. XI (G.R.S.) Allegro Di Molto
13. Var. XII (B.G.N.) Andante
14. Var. XIII Romanza (***) Moderato
15. Var. XIV Finale (E.D.U.) Allegro-Presto
Pomp And Circumstance - 5 Military Marches, Op. 39
16..1 In D Major
17. No.2 In A Minor
18. No.3 In C Minor
19. No.4 In G Major
20. No.5 In C Major
The Crown Of India - Suite, Op.66
21. I. Introduction - Dance Of Nautch Girls
22. II. Menuetto
23. III. Warriors' Dance
24. IV. Intermezzo
25. V. March Of The Mogul Emperors

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Daniel Barenboim – conductor

At the end of an overlong day laden with teaching and other duties, Edward Elgar lit a cigar, sat at his piano and began idling over the keys. To amuse his wife, the composer began to improvise a tune and played it several times, turning each reprise into a caricature of the way one of their friends might have played it or of their personal characteristics. "I believe that you are doing something which has never been done before," exclaimed Mrs. Elgar. Thus was born one of music's great works of original conception, and Elgar's greatest large-scale "hit": the Enigma Variations. The enigma is twofold: each of the 14 variations refers to a friend of Elgar's, who is depicted by the nature of the music, or by sonic imitation of laughs, vocal inflections, or quirks, or by more abstract allusions. The other enigma is the presence of a larger "unheard" theme which is never stated but which according to the composer is very well known. The identity of the phantom tune left the world with the composer, and guesses have ranged from "God Save the King" to a simple major scale. --- Wayne Reisig, Rovi

Elgar's first five Pomp and Circumstance Marches make a wonderfully diverse set of pieces, yet the name, and the shared structure of alternating scherzo and trio sections, identify these five marches as a single work. Their publication dates from different times in the composer's career, ranging from 1901 to 1930, but these dates are somewhat deceptive. Elgar produced no completely original work after Alice's death in 1920, and the fifth march is based on ideas Elgar had jotted down many years earlier, making the five marches far more contemporary in conception (and the note on the 6th March shows this to be far earlier than its numbering suggests). Elgar was concerned to treat the quick march in a symphonic style, much as the minuet, waltz or polka had been used by earlier composers. Sir John Hawkins, in his eighteenth-century "History of Music" wrote "It seems that the Old English March was formerly in high estimation, as well abroad as with us its characteristic is dignity and gravity." Certainly no one knew better than Elgar how to retain the essential dignity of the March: his is a superb set full of masterly orchestration, and he was rightly proud of them. --- elgar.org

In 1911, King George V and Queen Mary were crowned in India. To commemorate the event, a huge masque was commissioned and staged at the Coliseum Theatre in London in March 1912. As composer of the Coronation Ode, written for King Edward VII's planned coronation in 1902 and revived in 1911 for King George's coronation, it was natural that Elgar should be approached to write the incidental music to accompany the masque. Elgar composed twelve pieces for the masque, around sixty minutes of music in total, for contralto, bass, chorus and orchestra. He subsequently extracted five of these and added an intermezzo for solo violin to form a suite, first performed at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford in September 1912. It is in this form that the work is normally heard today. --- elgar.org

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1. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': Theme (Andante)
2. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 1. C.A.E. (L'istesso tempo)
3. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 2. H.D.S.-P. (Allegro)
4. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 3. R.B.T. (Allegretto)
5. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 4. W.M.B. (Allegro di molto)
6. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 5. R.P.A. (Moderato)
7. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 6. Ysobel (Andantino)
8. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 7. Troyte (Presto)
9. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 8. W.N. (Allegretto)
10. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 9. Nimrod (Adagio)
11. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 10. Intermezzo: Dorabella (Allegretto)
12. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 11. G.R.S. (Allegro di molto)
13. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 12. B.G.N. (Andante)
14. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 13. Romanza: *** (Moderato)
15. Vars on an Original Theme, Op. 36 'Enigma': 14. Finale: E.D.U. (Allegro - Presto)
16. Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39: No.1 in D
17. Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39: No.2 in a
18. Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39: No.3 in c
19. Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39: No.4 in G
20. Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39: No.5 in C

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Andre Previn – conductor

André Previn elicits beautiful playing from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in his account of the Enigma Variations, and projects a darker, more subdued view of the score than does Sir Adrian Boult. This is a reading of substantial cumulative power, convincing through and through, and distinguished by the velvety sound of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Previn's treatment of the marches, while not exactly fiery, is genial and warm. Rhythms are nicely sprung, and the readings have a relaxed, almost playful quality about them, although they take on plenty of gravity where appropriate. The digital sound is excellent and of a wide range. --Ted Libbey, amazon.com

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Quartet, Op. 83 in E minor 	
1 	Allegro moderato 	9:17
2 	Piacevole 	10:48
3 	Finale. Allegro molto 	9:04

Quintet, Op. 84 in A minor 	
4 	Moderato 	13:46
5 	Adagio 	13:01
6 	Andante 	10:40

Cello – Jacqueline Thomas
Grand Piano – Martin Roscoe (tracks: 4, 5, 6)
Viola – Paul Cassidy
Violin – Daniel Rowland, Ian Belton

The three great chamber works, the String Quartet, Piano Quintet, and Violin Sonata, were among the very last works that Elgar wrote, composed during an intensive and productive period in 1918 and 1919 whilst living at Brinkwells in Sussex, and under the twin shadows of the horrors of the Great War and the terminal illness of his wife, Alice.

The String Quartet was dedicated to the original Brodsky Quartet (the name subsequently taken by the current group when they arrived as students at the Royal Northern College of Music) and was championed by this new Brodsky Quartet from the off, sitting alongside Delius’s Quartet on their debut recording (1984). It has remained a cornerstone of their repertoire ever since.

The Brodsky Quartet took the opportunity of the centenary year of both works to perform the String Quartet alongside the Piano Quintet with their frequent co-performer Martin Roscoe, and this recording is a result of that commemoration. ---Notes, chandos.net

Edward Elgar's String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83, and Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 84, together with the Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82, written at about the same time, are rarely played. They were written after Elgar fled London during World War I, and they reflect a certain unease which can be difficult for performers to pin down. These two chamber works are, however, unabashedly lyrical; the influence on Elgar here comes more from Tchaikovsky than from Wagner. Sample the Piacevole, the second movement of the String Quartet, memorably characterized by Elgar's wife (at whose funeral it was played) as "captured sunshine." The Brodsky Quartet takes this remarkable movement at an unusually slow tempo, revealing its emotional depth, but not sinking into the lugubrious. The Piano Quintet is a broader work, but here too the Brodsky finds an inward quality, with pianist Martin Roscoe doing uncannily well in the passages where the piano seems to hover slightly eerily in the background. Chandos does fabulous engineering work at Potton Hall, a space likely quite similar to the one for which Elgar imagined the work as he was composing it. Highly recommended. ---James Manheim, AllMusic Review

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The Music Makers Op. 69 
1 - Moderato e nobilmente
2 - We are the music makers
3 - With wonderful deathless ditties
4 - We, in the ages lying
5 - A breath of our inspiration
6 - They had no vision amazing
7 - And therefore to-day is thrilling
8 - But we, with our dreaming and singing
9 - For we are afar with the dawning
10 - Great hail! we cry to the comers

The Sanguine Fan Op. 81
1 - A glade
2 - Pan enters piping, then curls up to sleep
3 - A Young Man enters, awaiting someone
4 - Two Girls enter gaily; the Young Man returns the fan which the First Girl has dropped in the excitement of meeting
5 - The Young Man declares his passion for the First Girl and is blindfolded; a quarrel
6 - Echo awakes Pan, who falls in love with her; they dance till exhausted
7 - Three Shepherdess bring gifts for Pan
8 - The First Girl and the Young Man enter, she angry, he pleading
9 - Echo Snatches Pan's Pipes and Tempts the Young Man
10 - Echo, Now Disguised as a Mortal, Captivates the You
11 - Pan Rouses and, Full of Jealous Wrath
12 - Echo, Sans Disguise, Run Back to Pan

Dame Janet Baker – mezzo-soprano
London Philharmonic Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult – conductor

The Music Makers is frequently criticised on two counts. Firstly, Elgar took as his libretto a poem by Arthur O'Shaunessey whose works were then in fashion but now seem curiously dated. And secondly, Elgar includes a number of quotations from his earlier works (Sea Pictures, The Dream of Gerontius, The Enigma Variations and both symphonies), leading to accusations that the work lacks originality and inventiveness.

Both criticisms are ill-founded. Whatever the past and current views of O'Shaunessey, there is no doubting that Elgar felt a strong affinity with the words of the poem, identifying himself with the 'dreamer of dreams' in the first line of the poem. And accepting the autobiographical links Elgar saw in the work, what should be more natural than that he should recall his earlier career through a series of quotations from those works.

Fortunately, the public does not slavishly follow the critics. The work achieved an immediate popularity, receiving frequent performances in the years following its composition. And while its initial popularity may have declined somewhat, the work is still performed regularly if infrequently, with the quotations adding a certain novelty value to what is undoubtedly a mellow and heartfelt work. ---elgar.org

It was Elgar's close friend and confidante Lady Alice Stuart-Wortley (Windflower) that asked Elgar in January 1917 if he would write The Sanguine Fan. The ballet was to be included in a matinée performance to be staged in London in March of that year for the benefit of wartime charities. The name derives from the fact that the theme of the ballet was inspired by a scene depicting Pan and Echo that a local artist had drawn in sanguine on a fan. The title is thus incidental to the theme.

Elgar, attracted both by the cause and the whimsical nature of the theme, responded willingly to Windflower's request and within a month had composed the original score. After the first performance, which he himself conducted, Elgar added a further piece - a shepherd's dance - which was premièred at a second charity performance in May 1917. ---elgar.org

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1. 1. Allegro
2. 2. Andante
3. 3. Allegro molto
4. The Lark Ascending

Hilary Hahn – violin
London Symphony Orchestra
Colin Davis – conductor

When it comes to cute violinists, Deutsche Grammophon has had the market covered for the last 20 years. First Anne-Sophie Mutter, then Gil Shaham, and now, the latest and possibly the cutest, Hilary Hahn. Until they start signing child prodigies, it will be hard to beat Hahn. Although she's 25 years old, she looks like she's still a teenager in her photographs and it's hard to beat a teenager violin super virtuoso for sheer, unadulterated cuteness.

But of course, Elgar's super virtuoso violin concerto has been attracting cute teenagers ever since Yehudi Menuhin recorded the work with the composer at the podium in 1932 when he was a mere 16. And let's not forget Nigel Kennedy's first go at the work back in 1984 when he was 28 but looked more like 18. There is something about the emotional maturity of the Elgar Concerto that does it. Something about the way it gushes, something about the way it rushes from a moment of utmost intimacy to a moment of overwrought passion, something about the way it has to tell the listener every single detail of its emotional life that makes it a cutie magnet.

Hahn launches herself along with her super virtuosity into the maelstrom of the Concerto's emotions, holding nothing back. That Hahn has the chops is never in doubt: she can do anything the work demands and do it with aplomb and panache. But the listener finds out far more than is decent about Hahn's emotional maturity. In her hands, Elgar's passion is petulance, his sensitivity is sentimentality, and his intimacy is histrionic. Colin Davis is too indulgent in his tempos, the London Symphony Orchestra is too accommodating in its textures and Deutsche Grammophon is too flattering in its recording. ---james Leonard, Rovi

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