1. Symphony No. 1 for soprano, baritone, chorus & orchestra ('A Sea Symphony'): No. 1, "A Song for All Seas, All Ships" 2. Symphony No. 1 for soprano, baritone, chorus & orchestra ('A Sea Symphony'): No. 2, "On the beach at night alone" 3. Symphony No. 1 for soprano, baritone, chorus & orchestra ('A Sea Symphony'): No. 3, "Scherzo" (The Waves) 4. Symphony No. 1 for soprano, baritone, chorus & orchestra ('A Sea Symphony'): No. 4, "The Explorers" 5. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, for 2 string orchestras 6. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, for 2 string orchestras 7. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, for 2 string orchestras 8. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, for 2 string orchestras 9. Symphony No. 2 in G major ('A London Symphony') 10. Symphony No. 2 in G major ('A London Symphony') 11. Symphony No. 2 in G major ('A London Symphony') 12. Symphony No. 2 in G major ('A London Symphony') 13. Symphony No. 2 in G major ('A London Symphony') 14. Symphony No. 2 in G major ('A London Symphony') 15. Symphony No. 2 in G major ('A London Symphony')
Disc 2
1. Symphony No. 2 in G major ('A London Symphony') 2. Symphony No. 3 for soprano or tenor & orchestra ('Pastoral'): Movement 1 3. Symphony No. 3 for soprano or tenor & orchestra ('Pastoral'): Movement 2 4. Symphony No. 3 for soprano or tenor & orchestra ('Pastoral'): Movement 3 5. Symphony No. 5 in D major: Preludio: Moderato
Disc 3
1. Symphony No. 5 in D major: Scherzo: Presto 2. Symphony No. 5 in D major: Romanza: Lento 3. Symphony No. 5 in D major: Passacaglia: Moderato 4. Symphony No. 4 in F minor: Allegro 5. Symphony No. 4 in F minor: Andante moderato 6. Symphony No. 4 in F minor: Scherzo: Allegro molto 7. Symphony No. 4 in F minor: Finale con epilogo fugato: Allegro molto 8. Symphony No. 6 in E minor: Allegro
Disc 4
1. Symphony No. 6 in E minor: Moderato 2. Symphony No. 6 in E minor: Scherzo. Allegro vivace 3. Symphony No. 6 in E minor: Epilogue. Moderato 4. Symphony No. 7 for soprano, small female chorus & orchestra with narrator ad lib ('Sinfonia Antartica'): No. 1 Prelude. Andante maes 5. Symphony No. 7 for soprano, small female chorus & orchestra with narrator ad lib ('Sinfonia Antartica'): No. 2 Scherzo. Moderato - p 6. Symphony No. 7 for soprano, small female chorus & orchestra with narrator ad lib ('Sinfonia Antartica'): No. 3 Landscape. Lento 7. Symphony No. 7 for soprano, small female chorus & orchestra with narrator ad lib ('Sinfonia Antartica'): No. 4 Intermezzo: Andante s 8. Symphony No. 7 for soprano, small female chorus & orchestra with narrator ad lib ('Sinfonia Antartica'): No. 5 Epilogue. Alla marcia
Disc 5
1. The Wasps, Aristophanic Suite, for orchestra from the incidental music 2. The Wasps, Aristophanic Suite, for orchestra from the incidental music 3. The Wasps, Aristophanic Suite, for orchestra from the incidental music 4. Symphony No. 8 in D minor: Movement 1 5. Symphony No. 8 in D minor: Movement 2 6. Symphony No. 8 in D minor: Movement 3 7. Symphony No. 9 in E minor 8. Symphony No. 9 in E minor 9. Symphony No. 9 in E minor 10. Symphony No. 9 in E minor
Disc 6
1. Symphony No. 9 in E minor 2. Symphony No. 9 in E minor 3. Serenade to Music ('How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!') for 16 soloists (or soloists & chorus) & orchestra 4. Serenade to Music ('How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!') for 16 soloists (or soloists & chorus) & orchestra 5. In the Fen Country, symphonic impression for orchestra 6. The Lark Ascending, romance for violin & orchestra 7. Norfolk Rhapsody for orchestra No. 1 in E minor 8. English Folk Song Suite, for orchestra (orchestrated by G. Jacob)
Disc 7
1. Fantasia on Greensleeves, for harp, flute & strings (arranged by R. Greaves; from the opera 'Sir John In Love') 2. Concerto for 2 pianos & orchestra in C major (revised version of Piano Concerto) 3. Job, A Masque for Dancing, ballet 4. Job, A Masque for Dancing, ballet 5. Job, A Masque for Dancing, ballet 6. Job, A Masque for Dancing, ballet 7. Job, A Masque for Dancing, ballet 8. Job, A Masque for Dancing, ballet
Customer Reviews of This Album/CD
Comforting Collection Submitted on: 2009-05-15
This composer's music has fascinated me since playing some of it in high school(1966). I had never found as complete a selection, recorded so well.
Sir Adrian Boult's Vaughan Williams Submitted on: 2009-02-21
Vaughan Williams seems to be a composer that not many people talk about as oppose to say someone like Stravinsky or Sibelius, but I'm here to tell you that you can put aside any thoughts you have had about him, because chances are you haven't heard Sir Adrian Boult's readings of this astonishing composer. Boult actually knew Vaughan Willams and premiered some of his works to the general public. Perhaps it is Boult's interpretations that I find to be the most rewarding. Since he had connections with the composer himself there is something very personal about these performances. No question about it. This is an essential box set for any Vaughan Willams fan.
On this release, Boult conducts the London Philharmonic, London Symphony, and the New Philharmonia Orchestra. Obviously these are top orchestras and they all turn in fantastic performances.
This 8-disc box set collects all of Vaughan Williams' symphonies and almost all of his orchestral works. What I find interesting is the omission of such great pieces as "Oboe Concerto" and "Variants of Dives and Lazarus." It's no big deal though, because there is enough music here for you to absorb and listen to for a while.
I would definitely say this box set is worth it's weight in gold. Pickup one as soon as you can, I'm not sure how long this particular set with be made available. In these times, it's hard to say. Enjoy the music!
BEST COMPLETE SURVEY Submitted on: 2006-07-14
The VW symphonies have done remarkably well on disc. Complete cycles by Previn, Haitink and Tod Handley all make substantial claims. Individual symphonies from Richard Hickox, Andrew Davis, Vaughan Williams himself and, of course, 'Glorious John' Barbirolli (as VW christened him) also demand attention. But, if you're looking for a complete overview of the Vaughan Williams symphonic canon (plus quite a lot of substantial extras) then this Boult set is probably still the best all-round recommendation.
Even he has a substantial rival in his earlier self on Decca, conducted under the gaze of the composer who delivers a touching speech of thanks to the players at the end of the pianissimo finale of the Sixth Symphony. This earlier Decca version probably has the edge for urgency and thrust in the quicker movements, but the sound on these later discs benefits enormously from the full warm stereo production typical of EMI in the 70's and also benefits from Sir Adrian's lifetime experience of these works.
In many ways, it is the earlier symphonies that come off best in this series. A wonderfully full-blooded Sea Symphony with a finely disciplined chorus, excellent soloists in John Carol Case and Sheila Armstrong (though she can't eclipse the magical Isobel Baillie in the older Boult set), and a rich Kingsway Hall acoustic get the set off to a fine start. The London Symphony was always special with Boult: he managed to achieve an ideal balance of symphonic thought with the touches of Edwardian period colour. The jingles of the hansom cab in the London fog and the cries of the street vendors come off particularly well here. But don't ignore Hickox's magnificent recording of the substantially longer original version. The Pastoral, too, is beautifully sustained in Boult's hands: the succession of slow, mostly quiet movements always glows with Pastoral intensity for him. Maybe his disciple, Vernon Handley, penetrates deeper into the dark echoes of the composer's experiences as an ambulance driver in the Great War.
The Fourth - "I don't know if I like it, but it's what I meant," in VW's famous quote - is full of barely restrained power, but perhaps would benefit from a bit more urgency at times. The Fifth, arguably the most symphonic of all the symphonies despite the Pilgrim's Progress origins of much of its material, gets an authentically profound performance with the LPO. Maybe we are closer to the Pilgrim origins here than to the symphonic arguments behind their transformations. There is serious competition in this symphony from Barbirolli (his 1st recording), from Haitink and from Handley. Haitink is the most 'symphonic', Barbirolli the most impassioned, Handley probably the most balanced.
The Sixth is fine, suitably violent and desolate by turns, but doesn't quite match Boult's blistering earlier recording. The Antarctica is curiously lack-lustre here - Haitink's is the revelatory performance of this symphony. The Eighth has always seemed to be the special domain of its dedicatee, Barbirolli, who had the key to unlocking its mixture of wild and wonderful orchestration (including "all the 'phones and 'spiels known to the composer") with cryptic symphonic argument. The enigmatic Ninth seems to elude most conductors, including Boult here. Handley comes closest to revealing its dark Hardyesque mysteries.
There are two additional discs of extra stuff, all beautifully played. Specially noteworthy are a Serenade to Music that comes close to matching Henry Wood's original line-up of soloists, Hugh Bean as a magically carolling Lark Ascending, a real rarity in the Double Piano Concerto and a great Job, perhaps the VW work closest to Boult's heart.
This set is excellent value for money and, for a complete collection of the symphonies, probably the best all-round recommendation - though Tod Handley runs it pretty close. Maybe the bonus items tip the balance Boult's way.
Still the Best Submitted on: 2006-03-19
Done more than 30 years ago, these recordings are still the best available of Ralph Vaughan Williams' orchestral music. The sound is here and there a little dated, but usually strongly competitive with present digital recordings. And the musicianship -- the wisdom of Adrian Boult and the high level of playing and singing -- really carry the day. Teaching a Lifelong Learning Institute on 20th Century Romantic composers this winter, I not only recommended but urged the participants to buy this set.
Vaughan Williams is one of the finest symphonists ever -- a thorough-going craftsman -- whose music connects the English countryside of a hundred years ago to the agonies of war and uproar of the century just past. People will be listening to this music long after the academics have come and gone; and this recording will still be the benchmark.
The best complete cycle, by far Submitted on: 2005-10-31
The British are admirable loyalists when it comes to their own composers. Symphonies by Bax, Arnold, Rubbra, Simpson, and others that are nevre played in the U.S. are daily fare to music lovers in the UK, which heated discussion about the best versions. By comparison, how much do American music lovers argue over the symphonies of William Schuman, Roy Harris, Roger Sessions, Leonard Bernstein, John Harbison, or champion of them all, with symphonies by the dozen, Alan Hovhaness?
Of the British crop, the only works that cross the Atlantic with any frequency are Elgar Sym. #1, Walton Sym. #1, and a handful of the Vaughan Williams nine. Boult's second set of the VW symphonies, in stereo for EMI as opposed to mono for Decca, is all anybody really needs. Some of the performances have been bettered individually--one thinks of Handley's VW First, Bernstein's Fourth, Barbirolli's Second, Stokowski's historical Fourth and Sixth. Boult has a fine orchestra in the London Phil. and good analog sound from EMI; his readings are dramatic and interesting, if not always deep.
If this were a Beethoven cycle, I'd want three or four alternative sets. Here it's not necessary. You can own all of VW's symphonic output and be assured that each reading is good enough to do justice to the music. Of course, this won't be enough for real enthusiasts, yet for Americans time might be better spent uncovering the shamefully neglected symphonic past--and present--of our native composers.
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Comforting Collection
The best complete cycle, by far