Fringes of the Fleet

[verismissimo]

Amazing to think that there was a 94 year gap between Elgar's recording of his Fringes of the Fleet and the recent Somm issue. The music had to be reconstructed from the original parts by conductor Tom Higgins.

This little performed cycle is to poems by Kipling from 1915. It was performed regularly (conducted by the composer) during WW1 at the Coliseum and other Music Hall venues, until Kipling withdrew it following the loss of his son.

Both recordings are very good (although the 1917 one is not available currently so far as I can tell). The early one has a stronger Music Hall atmosphere, the lead baritone, Charles Mott, excellent. But the Somm is superb in every way.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fringes-Fleet-Tom-Higgins/dp/B002TREOI6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1311935080&sr=1-1

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Amazing to think that there was a 94 year gap between Elgar's recording of his Fringes of the Fleet and the recent Somm issue. The music had to be reconstructed from the original parts by conductor Tom Higgins.

Somm's advertising was a little misleading here. There was a Pearl recording from 1987 - "Elgar: War Music". I have this excellent version of Fringes of the Fleet, coupled with the wartime recitations and an utterly dreadful performance of "Polonia" with the Rutland Sinfonia. The booklet with the Pearl CD makes no reference to any reconstruction from the parts, though this has been necessary for a number of Elgar's works, including "The Sanguine Fan" and "The Starlight Express" (only recently published for the first time as part of the Elgar Socirty Edition).

[PJPJ]

..... an utterly dreadful performance of "Polonia" with the Rutland Sinfonia....

It is unbelievably terrible..... there's a CD of Elgar's wind music, details deleted from my memory, which is equally jaw-dropping.

However, the Somm CD is terrific, not least for Higgins' conducting and Roderick Williams' singing.

[Roehre]

It is unbelievably terrible..... there's a CD of Elgar's wind music, details deleted from my memory, which is equally jaw-dropping

You mean the Chandos 2CD set with shed-music for 5 winds?

Polonia on the "War-Music" CD is terrible indeed. Stick to the EMI recording, combined with other little known Elgar pieces.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You mean the Chandos 2CD set with shed-music for 5 winds?

Oh, I thought this might be a reference to another of Barry Collett's Rutland recordings, which vary from being rather good to very embarrassing.

[Pabmusic]

Oh, I thought this might be a reference to another of Barry Collett's Rutland recordings, which vary from being rather good to very embarrassing.

It is. The Chandos wind quintets have confused the issue; ignore them. The "CD of Elgar's wind music" referred to is actually of the music for Powick Asylum, featuring Barry Collet et al. The playing is not great - but I don't suppose the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum band was very good, either. And since it's the only recording of the music, it has a place.

[Roehre]

It is. The Chandos wind quintets have confused the issue; ignore them. The "CD of Elgar's wind music" referred to is actually of the music for Powick Asylum, featuring Barry Collet et al. The playing is not great - but I don't suppose the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum band was very good, either. And since it's the only recording of the music, it has a place.

The Penny drops....

[PJPJ]

Not the Chandos, it's the other one mentioned above.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Is the Powick CD still available? I have the full score in the Elgar Society Edition, so it would be interesting to hear, however doubtful the playing is.

[PJPJ]

It may be from the address given here:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/Apr01/ElgarPowick.htm

[Suffolkcoastal]

The work put Lowestoft on the map (briefly) before Britten's rise. I think Kipling's Lowestoft Boat is based on fact as I can distinctly remember my Grandfather (who was in his teens at the time of WW1) describing just such a vessel and how it got shelled by the German Fleet, which also shelled the town. The Collett CD (which I also have) filled a purpose at the time also having the rare Carillon, Le Drapeau Belge and Une voix dans le desert. Yes the playing is pretty dreadful in places, but at least they bothered to record works by one of this country's greatest composers which better known orchestras and labels had ignored.

[Pabmusic]

... works by one of this country's greatest composers which better known orchestras and labels had ignored.

Too true, and it's still the only recording of Le Drapeau Belge and Une Voix Dans le Desert, and the only modern recording of Carillon with narration. Une Voix is quite lovely - you'd think someone would programme it, but they don't.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Too true, and it's still the only recording of Le Drapeau Belge and Une Voix Dans le Desert, and the only modern recording of Carillon with narration. Une Voix is quite lovely - you'd think someone would programme it, but they don't.

Not quite. There is an alternative version of "Une Voix Dans le Desert" on Classico with Douglas Bostock and the Munich Symphony Orchestra, but the soprano is no match for the superb Teresa Cahill in the Pearl recording.

[Pabmusic]

So there is! I've got it, too! And you're absolutely right about the soprano. (Isn't it good how a forum like this can remind one to listen to things again - and sometimes with new ears.)