Shakespeare Returns

 

I love the art of Falstaff.

Visual artists seem to have a lot of fun portraying the portly character. There is a wonderfully rosy-cheeked painting of Falstaff on Chandos to check out.

Certainly, Vaughan Williams isn't the only composer to depict him musically either, Elgar and Verdi coming first to mind.

Vaughan Williams doesn't pull any punches with the title Fat Knight, though. Better yet, the music is a whole lot of fun, and at 54 minutes, offers a whole lot of orchestral variety. Fat Knight is an early orchestral suite of what eventually became Sir John in Love, so those anathema to opera are able to hear some of its music, here orchestrated by conductor Martin Yates.

 

A review from 2023

Dutton hits it out of the park with every new Ralph Vaughan Williams recording they release. Norfolk Rhapsodies, Richard II, Four Seasons, Scott of the Antarctic, 49th Parallel, and this recording of rare orchestral music.

Fat Knight is the concert suite from RVW’s Four-Act Opera Sir John in Love, found on Chandos and on EMI. It is as big and bold as the titular character Falstaff, and I daresay the orchestration by Martin Yates is perky, witty, and cinematic. Few suites have made me want to go out and experience the original opera, but Fat Knight really took me by surprise. A real treat!

The Henry V Overture continues in the same manner as Fat Knight, perhaps more brassy and surly. Contrastingly, the orchestral-only version of Serenade to Music is quite different from its vocal & choral counterpart; it smartly eschews the middle solo parts. The work is a bit cloyingly pastoral, yet rather sumptuous nonetheless.

What a sensational recording! The orchestral output from Scotland is gorgeous in the crisply colourful Dutton sound, and Martin Yates is forever an undying advocate of Vaughan Williams’ lost music, and successfully so.

 

 

 

Works
Fat Knight (53.31)
Henry V: Overture (8.53)
Serenade to Music (11.14)

Soloists
James Clark, violin

Ensembles
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Martin Yates, conductor

Label: Dutton
Year: 2016
Timing: 74.01

 

 

Another great rare Vaughan Williams program from Martin Yates and the RSNO on Dutton.

These recordings may be hard to find, but they are usually worth the search.