I recorded the BAL choice of RVW's Symphony No 9 on Monday morning and, facing an unspecified period of adverse weather, decided to revisit several works on CD and DVD. Of course, O Thou Transcendent and The Passions of VW topped the bill but I also favour an exquisite South Bank Show, rec 1994, in which Ursula Vaughan Williams guides director, Ken Russell, through the 9 Symphonies in a running time of 55 mins; I edited out the commercial breaks when transferring the off-air video to DVD, a few years ago. A clever compilation using Russell telling the story to his granddaughter, using a scapbook for the stills showing the young RVW and we first see Ursula silhouetted as she emerges from a cave, cape flowing behind her, and moving towards the seashore accompanied by the rousing 'Behold the Sea' The interchange of these three characters take us from the turn of the century when RVW was told "That's enough of old Brahms, give us something fresh" and Ursula tells us how he began to escape this ghost with his first symphony. A touch of chutzpah as they approach the London Symphony, parked in a Rolls Royce on the north side of Parliament Square with Big Ben - surrounded by tarpauling during wholesale renovation - in the background, I assumed this sequence was done using back projection but the car moved quickly away and turned left into Whitehall. A fine montage of London shots follow as we hear extracts from Sym 2 on the soundtrack. The Pastoral symphony with WW1 is delicately featured to demonstrate its blend of restraint and intensity with an unexpected shot of the Fallen Soldier sculpture registering strongly with me. This, too, was intercut with a Gloucester cathedral setting with the sweetness of The Lark Ascending - good to see Iona Brown.
A sense of period, too, with a dinner party including guests David Willcocks, Elizabeth McConochie. A bold Russell touch, too, when a party of guests walk from the foreground into a long shot which is held for at least a couple of minutes with UVW adding closing comments to Sym 3. Made me wonder whether the director was influenced by the end sequence in "The Third Man", in reverse, when the heroine walks from the graveyard of Harry Lime into the foreground over the same time! In both cases it is highly effective.
We also see sequences of Tod Handley conducting the 6th Symphony - "When you return to RVW you always have to search for the ideas in his huge range." Also Barbirolli conducting the Halle at the Manchester premieres of 7/8 and UVW/KR discuss the subsequent emergence of Sinfonia Antartica as they watch "Scott of the Antartic".
A haunting seaside shot of Peter Savidge singing the Menelaus Song and a most effective conclusion at Stonehenge with Ursula commenting on the significance of the tolling bell in the ninth symphony indicating where all journeys should end.
I'm surprised that many of the classic South Bank Shows do not seem to be available on DVD and I treasure my limited collection. Anyhow, I keep a 'master collection' of the RVW Symphonies on a DVD with other favourites, The Quest for Reginald Goodall (1992) and Songs of Farewell (1996) for regular reference. Bet I'm not alone either.
A sense of period, too, with a dinner party including guests David Willcocks, Elizabeth McConochie. A bold Russell touch, too, when a party of guests walk from the foreground into a long shot which is held for at least a couple of minutes with UVW adding closing comments to Sym 3. Made me wonder whether the director was influenced by the end sequence in "The Third Man", in reverse, when the heroine walks from the graveyard of Harry Lime into the foreground over the same time! In both cases it is highly effective.
We also see sequences of Tod Handley conducting the 6th Symphony - "When you return to RVW you always have to search for the ideas in his huge range." Also Barbirolli conducting the Halle at the Manchester premieres of 7/8 and UVW/KR discuss the subsequent emergence of Sinfonia Antartica as they watch "Scott of the Antartic".
A haunting seaside shot of Peter Savidge singing the Menelaus Song and a most effective conclusion at Stonehenge with Ursula commenting on the significance of the tolling bell in the ninth symphony indicating where all journeys should end.
I'm surprised that many of the classic South Bank Shows do not seem to be available on DVD and I treasure my limited collection. Anyhow, I keep a 'master collection' of the RVW Symphonies on a DVD with other favourites, The Quest for Reginald Goodall (1992) and Songs of Farewell (1996) for regular reference. Bet I'm not alone either.
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