Hely-Hutchinson: Carol Symphony

 

The cover gives a way what kind of 'carol' Hely-Hutchinson's symphony is intimating, but what a gas it would be to have a symphony named after Aunt Carol.
If you enjoy Christmas Carols and the joy their tunes bring, this recording will be a must-have acquisition for you.

Three 12 - 25 minute orchestral Christmas Carol fantasias are presented from Bryan Kelly, Patric Standford, and more famously, Victor Hely-Hutchinson's A Carol Symphony. 

This is light orchestral music of the finest kind; just don't do in expecting heavy motivic developments at the mention of a symphony. In addition, two shorter works come from Philip Lane and Peter Warlock. The latter composer is represented by his famous Bethlehem Down, here for string orchestra.

Since this recording gets repeated plays in December, I have noticed it is recorded at a low level compared to others. Otherwise, the playing and music is a delight from start to finish!

A review from 2019

Subtitled Christmas Orchestral Favourites, Naxos presents symphonic treatments of familiar Christmas tunes by English and South African composers of the 20th Century. Led by British Light Music specialist Gavin Sutherland and played by the pop-culture infused City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, for those who might enjoy a different romp through familiar holiday carols, this album will be most treasurable.

Bryan Kelly’s Improvisations on Christmas Carols is in five movements, each dedicated to a particular carol (much the same could describe the entire disc), and each a 2+ minute fantasy set in contrasting moods and styles. Highlights include the rhythmically taut brass work in God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and the lushly orchestrated Past Three O’Clock. Only the over repetitive Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen lacks invention, but the work as a whole is a pleasant diversion.

The titular A Carol Symphony by Victor Hely-Hutchinson is also represented by the classic Barry Rose performance on EMI , but it is in older sound compared to this clear Naxos release. Of the works on this disc, Hely-Hutchinson comes closest to symphonic development, the standouts being the delightfully jaunty countermelody of the opening and closing Adeste fidelis and the 3rd movement’s craggy Medieval setting of Coventry Carol set opposite the gorgeous buildup of The First Nowell, first with dainty harp and winds towards a cinematic climax and back to the evocative Coventry. The final movement’s ending is a bit anti-climactic to what has come before, but it is overall well played.

Philip Lane arranged Peter Warlock’s gentle 4-minute Bethlehem Down for strings, although I prefer the traditional vocal version, also found on the same Barry Rose EMI performance. Lane is also represented in his Wassail Dances, a three movement take on the lesser known Somerset, Yorkshire, and Glouchestershire Wassails. I appreciate these lively 2-3 minute settings, especially since I haven’t heard these tunes since my teens, but it is refreshing to hear these less familiar tunes against all the heavy hitters on this disc, and adds a little wit to the proceedings.

As opposed to many of the reviewers, I am not as wowed by Patric Standford’s A Christmas Carol Symphony, the 1st movement an overlapping juxtaposition of many carols at once, although I do appreciate Standford using the underused, but brilliant carol On Christmas Night in the finale.

The sound on this Naxos recording is mixed; the sound seems large and over-reverberant for a studio-bound setting, and with the exception of Hely-Hutchinson’s A Carol Symphony and the Bethlehem Down which gets a solidly balanced ensemble, the brass are captured aggressively forward, occasionally overtaking the strings, but conversely giving a solid voice to the percussion and winds. Also, the City of Prague PO is not without its tiny blunders in playing and tuning, but they are excitingly characterful giving all of the music here energy galore. Gavin Sutherland is a prime proponent of these composers and this style of music, and I could not imagine a better enthusiast leading these performances. If nothing else this is an excellent companion recording to the aforementioned EMI recording.

Depending on how you feel about the melding of familiar Christmas carols with Classical symphonic attributes, whether it is cloyingly treacly, delightfully wistful, or spiritually powerful will depend on taste, but the performances here are spirited and well played. The miserly Scrooge in me would award the blousy sound and orchestral balances 3 ½ - 4 stars, but the Tiny Tim in me recognizes the paucity of representation of this Yuletide-inspired music on record as well as the enthusiasm of these performances by Sutherland and the City of Prague, and I don’t mind the endless parade of familiar tunes.

 

 

 

Works
Bryan Kelly
Improvisations on Christmas Carols (12.36)

Victor Hely-Hutchinson
A Carol Symphony (24.42)

Patric Standford
A Christmas Carol Symphony (19.01)

Philip Lane
Wassail Dances (7.57)

Peter Warlock
Bethlehem Down (4.06)

Performers
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Gavin Sutherland, conductor

Label: Naxos
Year: 2002
Total Timing: 68.23

 

 

This recording of Christmas-Carol fantasias joyfully receives an airing out every year. What a delight for fans of the Season!