Parry: Boult Conducts

 

Having recently come from Matthias Bamert leading Sir Hubert Parry's symphonies on Chandos, I think I will hand my preference to Sir Adrian Boult in leading Parry's music. Boult has a straightforward manner handling Parry, shorn of any overblown sentimentality, whereas Bamert milked his symphonies for all they were worth. Not that I didn't enjoy Bamert's set, which introduced Parry's symphonies to wide public, I just like this more.

One can sense an overt Britishness in Parry from Boult as well, another aspect I didn't always hear with Bamert, heard handily here in the Overture to an Unwritten Tragedy. I sense an unfussy determination in Boult leading this Overture, a work which is in turns grouchy and lyrical. This sort of propulsive approach works very well, setting the music on an exhilarating pace. As a tiny tidbit, Parry's Bridal March to Aristophanes The Birds is a fetching miniature.

Sir Hubert's two string-orchestra suites, Lady Radnor's Suite and An English Suite, both owe much influence of the Baroque and Classical Eras more than Parry's favored Romanticism. I like that Boult has the London Symphony Orchestra play fully, not approaching the music in a modern silvery fashion, as would be the trend today. Instead, the LSO is hale and hearty in this music, reminding me of how I enjoy Holst's Brook Green Suite or St. Paul's Suite to be played.

It is actually An English Suite which gives into more of Parry's Romanticisms, where, when played as sturdily as the LSO is here, reminds me of taking a constitutional on a brisk late-Autumn day, with a stiff wind at the back in the Welsh heather. The little Scotch Snaps in the Air will remind many of the more famous Londonderry Air, while the LSO lays the long bows on thick in the Sarabande. Lady Radner's Suite is a little more buttoned up, but the Slow Minuet is an absolute gem and I love how Parry utilizes string mutes throughout.

I have professed my love of Parry's Symphonic Variations before, and I will reiterate my sentiments here. Once again, Sir Adrian forges ahead compared to Bamert on Chandos, and I like the directness he imbues into the work. The best thing I enjoy about this particular set of variations is how the piece is all of a whole, not constantly stopping and starting as some variations will. Instead, Parry transitions from one variation to another with eminent ease, as if each flows into the next fluidly and naturally.

The 1978 sonics sound terrific, with nary a tell-tale sign of its age, released on CD in the 1990s. The brass are allowed a little punch here and there, but generally speaking, the engineers left well enough alone, showcasing the London ensembles closely, yet winsomely.

 

Works
Overture to an Unwritten Tragedy (10.25)
An English Suite (20.57)
The Birds: Bridal March (5.21)
Lady Radnor's Suite (13.25)
Symphonic Variations (12.53)

Ensembles
London Symphony Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra (Birds)
Sir Adrian Boult, conductor

Year: 1971 & 1978; 1992
Label: Lyrita
Total Timing: 63.09

 

A winning account of Hubert Parry's orchestral music from Sir Adrian Boult and the London Symphony Orchestra.

I particularly enjoy Boult's directness in Parry's works here, providing clear-eyed, bustling performances.

Lyrita's sound is excellent as well!

 

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