Charles Hubert Parry - Symphony No.2 "The Cambridge"; Symphonic Variations

Charles Hubert Parry

Symphony No. 2 (The Cambridge)

Symphonic Variations

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Matthias Bamert

Amazon.com

Parry (1848-1918) was part of that generation in England that was influenced not by the French, but the Germans--Brahms, Schumann, and Wagner. While Schumann is evident in Parry's Symphony 1, by the time he gets around to writing his Symphony 2 ("The Cambridge") in 1882, he has discovered his true English heart. He still relies on the Mozart-Beethoven-Schumann four- movement symphony structure, but this just gives Parry more room to play with for his themes. His Symphonic Variations (1897) is on the order of Brahms's Haydn Variations, but with an English flare. Superb series. --Paul Cook

Charles Hubert Parry was an English composer who was the director of the Royal College of Music from 1895 until his death in 1918. Despite advances in musical language that were happening in Vienna and elsewhere, his compositions are firmly within the Romantic tradition (people who like Brahms, Schumann, Dvorak, and Bruch will find this disc very much to their taste). His Symphony No. 2, which he revised after its first performance, was presented in its final version in 1887. It was an immediate success, especially with the famous conductor Hans Richter, who regarded it as one of his favorite works.

The symphony itself is a glorious piece of work; the opening movement has a sweeping grandeur that is wholly individual; the opening theme serves as a leitmotiv for the symphony, and returns in varying forms in each of the following movements. The scherzo is a bustling, minor-key movement that is reminiscent of a Dvorak furiant. The adagio takes the leitmotiv and spins peaceful contrapuntal themes about it, while the finale provides its own theme with the symphonic leitmotiv contrasting. The Symphonic Variations are nice filler, but the disc comes in a little short at only fifty-two minutes. Bamert directs a performance of nicely contrasted tempi, and the London Philharmonic plays with verve. The sound by Chandos is resonant and full; I think this dulls the brilliance of the performance a little, as the sound is sometimes a little 'rounded' when it needs to 'bite'. This is a small quibble that does not mar good early '90s digital sound.

I was stunned the first time I heard the opening of this symphony; it was so beautiful to my ears that I could not believe that this was the first time it had been recorded. Even today, Parry is more famous for his choral work than for any of his other symphonic, chamber, or piano works (remember the choral piece being sung in the opening and closing scenes of the movie Chariots of Fire? That's Parry's "Jerusalem"). I saw this disc in a store, and asked a sales-person if I could play it somewhere so I could see if I wanted to buy it. Beethoven was switched off, Parry's Symphony 2 came on, and everyone in the store literally stopped and just listened. There are many record companies that attempt to justify new or forgotten works by claiming they are masterpieces. In this instance, the hype is justified. Highly recommended!