Vaughan Williams: The Complete Symphonies, Vol. 1
- Symphony No. 1 “A Sea Symphony” (1910)
- Isobel Baillie, soprano, John Cameron, baritone
- London Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra Frederick Jackson, Choir Director
- Sir Adrian Boult, conductor
- rec. 28-30 December 1953 & 1 January 1954, Kingsway Hall, London
Pristine Audio PASC658 [67:20]
Available as download or on CD — click here to purchase.
Ralph Vaughn Williams, a late bloomer so far as composers go, led the first performance of his Symphony No. 1, “A Sea Symphony,” on the occasion of his 38th birthday, at the Leeds Festival. The slow evolution of the work found impetus in the instruction of Maurice Ravel, whom Vaughan Williams claimed, “showed me how to orchestrate in points of color rather than in lines.” The poetic inspiration derived from the composer’s having discovered the works of American Walt Whitman and his revolutionary collection Leaves of Grass, particularly “Sea Drift” and “Passage to India,” adapted by Vaughan Williams to his own purposes, his choral muse itself having been homed by teachers Hubert Parry and Charles Villiers Stanford. Pristine Audio intends to issue the complete symphonies as led by Sir Adrian Boult (1882-1983), a staunch advocate of this particular work since 1924, and a purveyor of two complete symphony cycles on record.