What a valuable and rewarding release! Dedicated Anglophiles will recall that Sir John Pritchard’s account of Rawsthorne’s First Symphony originally appeared in harness with a vivid reading of the superbly inventive Symphonic Studies (perhaps this composer’s masterpiece), whilst Norman Del Mar’s version of the Third was paired with a stunning rendering of Roberto Gerhard’s exhilarating Concerto for Orchestra (I must confess I have always treasured my copy of the Argo LP featuring this latter coupling). Both these vintage recordings (made in Kingsway Hall and dating from 1975 and 1967 respectively) have come up as fresh as new paint in Simon Gibson’s admirable transfers – turn up the volume just a little and the Third Symphony in particular sounds astonishingly fresh nearly 30 years on. The Second Symphony, entrusted to the London Philharmonic under Lyrita stalwart Nicholas Braithwaite, is a brand new digital recording from August 1993, supervised by the expert team of producer Andrew Keener and sound engineer Mark Vigars.
Rawsthorne’s three symphonies form a powerful triptych. The First (1950) impresses with its urgency and polish. It is a substantial utterance, turbulent and serene by turns, rich in strong ideas, and passionately essayed here by Pritchard and the LPO. The Second, of nine years later (A Pastoral Symphony) inhabits an altogether more relaxed and delicate landscape than its moody predecessor, yet with no diminution in terms of concentration or proportional elegance. In the Andante finale, Rawsthorne incorporates a radiant setting (pleasingly delivered on this occasion by soprano Tracey Chadwell) of a poem in praise of summer by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516-47): it exhibits a grace and gentle melancholy which are entirely characteristic of its creator. Braithwaite and the London Philharmonic have the measure of this likeable score, and the Watford Town Hall sound is full and airy to match. Del Mar and the BBC SO prove themselves to be no less eloquent protagonists of the Third Symphony (1964). This is at once the darkest, most extended and profound of the three. Ambitious in scope and evincing a fastidious craftsmanship, its emotional kernel comprises the second movement “Alla Sarabanda”, a noble, deeply felt processional, which contains some of Rawsthorne’s most intense, anguished inspiration.
Let’s hope that this useful issue signals the reappearance on CD of other British Council-sponsored recordings from this source (how about a new lease of life for Del Mar’s very fine Argo version of Nicholas Maw’s glorious Scenes and Arias – 10/69?). In the meantime, however, a hearty welcome for another Lyrita winner.'