Arnold Bax: Tone Poems Vol.1

Review by James Leonard If this is the sort of thing you love, you'll love this disc. What sort of thing is it? It's an early 20th century Anglo-Irish thing; a Delius meets Debussy singing "Londonderry Air" sort of thing; a heroic horns, evocative winds, shimmering strings, atmospheric harps sort of thing; a yearning melodies, sensual harmonies, pliant rhythms, amorphous structure sort of thing. And if that's the sort of thing you love -- and you'd have to be pretty hard hearted not to love it at least a little at least some of the time -- you'll love this disc. A self-described ‘brazen Romantic,' Arnold Bax was an English composer without an unquenchable longing for Ireland and the four orchestral works on this disc certainly live up to that billing. "In the Faery Hills" has the smell of the high county in it; "November Woods" has the echo of distant wars in it; "The Garden of Fand" has the tang of western sea in it; and "Sinfonietta" has the ring of honest emotion in it. An old hand at the Anglo-Irish thing with superlative recordings to his credit of Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Delius and, of course, Bax, Vernon Handley, turns in performances that are deeply committed and wholly inspired. Likewise old hands at the Anglo-Irish thing, the BBC Philharmonic turns in performances that are smoothly polished and amazing ardent. If you don't already know the Anglo-Irish thing, you might try Vaughan Williams, Elgar and Delius first. But if you do already know the Anglo-Irish thing and you don't know Bax, by all means, try this disc. You'll probably love it.