COMPOSERS: Elgar,Parry
LABELS: EMI
WORKS: An English Suite; Suite in F (Lady Radnor’s Suite)
PERFORMER: City of London Sinfonia/Richard Hickox
CATALOGUE NO: CDM 5 66541 2 Reissue (1984)
These Parry and Elgar string works complement each other very well. This is Parry in lighter vein – genial and very tuneful. The spirit of the dance pervades Lady Radnor’s Suite, which pays homage to Bach. It is charming and elegant; and this suite and the later, slightly more sophisticated An English Suite, include stately sarabandes and delightful minuets. Elgar’s Serenade needs no introduction, but the melancholy yet beautiful Sospiri is a gem. These are refined performances splendidly produced and engineered by Brian Culverhouse, but, on balance, I prefer Barbirolli’s warmer, more intense reading of Elgar’s Serenade. Ian Lace
Parry, Elgar
These Parry and Elgar string works complement each other very well. This is Parry in lighter vein – genial and very tuneful. The spirit of the dance pervades Lady Radnor’s Suite, which pays homage to Bach. It is charming and elegant; and this suite and the later, slightly more sophisticated An English Suite, include stately sarabandes and delightful minuets. Elgar’s Serenade needs no introduction, but the melancholy yet beautiful Sospiri is a gem.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:16 pm