Stalwart of Vaughan Williams

 

Who?

Bryden Thomson!

Thomson has some of my favorite recordings of orchestral music by Vaughan Williams.

Thus, it was a no-brainer I would try Thomson's performance of Dona Nobis Pacem. This choral cantata is a masterpiece, although I have favorite recordings of it elsewhere.

Like Thomson's set of Vaughan Williams symphonies, the church acoustic gives a grand sound to the chorus and orchestra. As a bit of filler, the composer's Five Mystical Songs are sung by Brian Rayner Cook. In the end, this ends up being a decent recording of these Vaughan Williams chestnuts.

A review from 2023

Bryden Thomson’s Vaughan Williams symphony cycle was characterized by its acoustic, that of a cathedral. That is continued here in VW’s masterpiece Dona Nobis Pacem, but with the London PO and Chorus on hand.

 

Of great 20^th Century Requiem settings, particularly those afforded amongst World Wars, RVW’s Dona Nobis Pacem must rank at the top alongside Britten’s War Requiem and Hindemith’s Where Lilacs. Moments of terrifying fright are poised beside calm beauty, and its wartime verse has relevant immediacy.

 

Edith Wiens’ soprano is beautiful here and Brian Rayner Cook is good with the lyrical text, as he was in Thomson’s performance of A Sea Symphony, also on Chandos.

 

The aforementioned acoustic muddies the waters a bit; Whitman’s piquant texts aren’t going to be crisp here amongst the chorus. But the St. Jude’s location does allow for Thomson’s broad, grand, sometimes explosive vision of VW’s music, which the symphonic chorus and the LPO are on board for.

 

My preferences in Dona Nobis Pacem begin with Hickox on EMI, with a terrific duo of soloists, and the classic Sir Adrian Boult, also on EMI, who drives this music forward in his own way.

 

No one is busting down any doors to hear Brian Rayner Cook traverse the religiously intimate Five Mystical Songs. Again, the acoustic is now a boon, for this is the most grandiose, symphonic version of the work I know. I prefer Willcocks on EMI, who has the great John Shirley Quirk on hand, or even Sir Thomas Allen on Hyperion in a pinch.

 

Altogether, not too bad of a program. There are stronger choices in the catalog for both of these works, but Thomson and crew only add to the quality of said catalog. Depending on how one feels regarding the cathedral acoustic, this could be a good choice. For me it has its ups and downs.

Work
Dona Nobis Pacem (35.58)
Five Mystical Songs (20.29)

Soloists
Edith Wiens, soprano
Brian Rayner Cook, baritone

Ensembles
London Philharmonic Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Bryden Thomson, conductor

Label: Chandos
Year: 1988
Timing: 56.36

For true inspiration in this music, I turn elsewhere, usually to Hickox on EMI (BLOG).

Otherwise, these choral and vocal works are ably handled by a favorite Vaughan Williams orchestra interpreter, Bryden Thomson.