Tippett, Vaughan Williams, English Sinfonia, John Farrer - Concerto For Double String Orchestra
STYLE: Classical RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 16882-9784 LABEL: Resonance RSN3057 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1
Reviewed by Liz Knowles
The pairing of Michael Tippett (1905-1998) with Vaughan Williams is a good one. Both composers were firmly rooted in the 20th century. Tippett incorporated modern elements such as jazz and blues into his music yet looked to the baroque for inspiration, while Vaughan Williams famously looked to English folk song for much of his inspiration. Both wrote exceptionally well for strings, providing elegantly lyrical melodies for the lower voices (viola, cello, bass) rather than plodding harmony. The production here seemed a little noisy in places though perhaps acceptable in a budget priced re-release of recordings from the 1990s. The English Sinfonia's playing is vibrant and eloquent, and does fair justice to the writing.
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