Album

Remarkably, this is the first complete cycle of the five symphonies of Sir Charles Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918), the first great English symphonist and the first great English composer since the death of Thomas Arne. Incredibly, most of these recordings are premieres. Unbelievably, many of them are the first performances since the premieres a century earlier. There's a simple reason for this: Parry was a great man of his time, but his time had past. In the optimistic late-Victorian era, Parry's musical integrity and ethical idealism was admirable; in the cynical postwar era, Parry's faith in humanity and his belief in the transformative power of music seemed hopelessly outdated. So his symphonies remained unperformed until these recordings by Matthias Bamert and the London Philharmonic. As convincingly and compellingly as the music of Parry can be performed, it is performed here. Bamert's belief in the music and the intensity of his conviction drives the music, and the London Philharmonic's dedication pushes it as close to greatness as it will ever get. Unfortunately, that is not very close: despite the best efforts of Bamert and the Philharmonic, Parry's music, as idealistic as it is, sounds distinctly old-fashioned, its emotions shallow, its triumphs hollow, and its optimism, ultimately, empty. Listeners who love Elgar may come to admire Parry, but it seems unlikely that many of them will come to love Parry. Likewise, Chandos' early-'90s digital sounds distinctly old-fashioned: big, bold, and boomy.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 3
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry Composer Symphony No.1 in G Work Recorded 1991 42:27 London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Matthias Bamert Conductor
1	1.Con fuoco	12:28			$1.99
2	2.Andante	10:52			$1.99
3	3.Presto - Meno mosso	9:30			$1.49
4	4.Allegretto. molto vivace	9:37			$1.49
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry Composer Symphonic Variations for orchestra in E Work Recorded 1991 London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Matthias Bamert Conductor
5	Symphonic Variations for orchestra in E	14:04			$2.49
CD 2 of 3
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry Composer Symphony No.2 in F ("Cambridge") Work Recorded 1991 37:39 London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Matthias Bamert Conductor
1	1.Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato	11:48			$1.99
2	2.Scherzo: Molto vivace - Poco più mosso - Presto	7:21			$1.49
3	3.Andante	8:07			$1.49
4	4.Allegro vivace	10:23			$1.99
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry Composer Symphony No.3 in C ("English") Work Recorded 1990 34:20 London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Matthias Bamert Conductor
5	1.Allegro energico	7:47			$1.49
6	2.Andante sostenuto	10:02			$1.99
7	3.Allegro molto scherzoso	5:25			$0.99
8	4.Moderato	11:06			$1.99
CD 3 of 3
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry Composer Symphony No.4 in E- Work Recorded 1990 41:34 London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Matthias Bamert Conductor
1	1.Con fuoco	16:13			$2.99
2	2.Molto Adagio	8:35			$1.49
3	3.Allegretto	7:31			$1.49
4	4.Spiritoso	9:15			$1.49
Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry Composer Symphony No.5 in B- ("Symphonic Fantasia") Work Recorded 1991 26:52 London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra, Matthias Bamert Conductor
5	1.Stress: Slow - Allegro - Tempo I	7:04			$1.49
6	2.Love: Lento	5:58			$0.99
7	3.Play: Vivace	4:47			$0.99
8	4.Now: Moderato	9:03			$1.49