Martyn Brabbins and the
BBC Symphony Orchestra close their acclaimed complete cycle of
Ralph Vaughan Williams' symphonies with the
Symphony No. 7 ("Sinfonia Antartica") and
Symphony No. 9. Unlike the previous volumes, this release doesn't include a non-symphonic piece, though that isn't a concern since the combined power and intensity of these symphonies will likely leave listeners well satiated. Much of the music for the
Sinfonia Antartica began life as music for the film
Scott of the Antarctic.
Vaughan Williams was so inspired by the tragic tale of
Robert Falcon Scott's doomed expedition that he almost immediately set to writing the new symphony. The score includes superscriptions before each movement that are included in programs when the work is performed and which are sometimes read aloud preceding each movement. The booklet for physical buyers includes these texts; however, with the proliferation of streaming-only listeners, it may have been better to also include a reading since they do indeed help place the listener in the composer's mindset for each movement. Nevertheless,
Brabbins' history as the music director of the
English National Opera is an ideal pairing for these imagery-rich late works, and listeners won't need much more than the work's title to bring to mind the frozen wonder. The
Symphony No. 9, written well into the composer's eighties, began life as a programmatic work partially inspired by the novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles by
Thomas Hardy. Though its final form dropped the program structure, the work is dramatic, and
Vaughan Williams was still clearly expanding his musical language in his final symphony, including introducing a fluegelhorn into one of his symphonies for the first time. He also adds three saxophones to the orchestra's texture that take a prominent role in the Scherzo third movement.
Brabbins and the
BBC Symphony deliver quality once more in the conclusion of this fine cycle, which should find an audience beyond
Vaughan Williams enthusiasts. ~ Keith Finke
![Variation[s], Vol. 1: Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Webern](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/3149020944936_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Variation[s], Vol. 1: Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Webern")