ORCHESTRAL WORKS VOL2

Very enjoyable

A brilliant recording of this most enchanting and and enjoyable . Beautiful music . The More of Arnold Bax i listen too the more i think what a brilliant composer he was . so good that these lovely recordings are available on CD,

The main item on this disc, the early orchestral fantasy 'Spring Fire', could probably also be called Bax's Symphony No. '0', because in scale and structure it's certainly a symphony, and a fine one too. The opening, depicting dawn in a woodland after rain, is one of the most hauntingly atmospheric passages Bax ever wrote, and I guarantee that once you've heard it, you won't be able to get it out of your head. Nothing else in this big and muscular score is quite on that level of invention, but if you like Bax at all, you're bound to warm to the colour, romance and sheer epic heft of the work. The shorter peices are all worth hearing, though there's nothing in them to compete with Bax's better known orchestral works, like Tintagel or November Woods. Playing and recording, as throughout this Chandos series, are excellent.Not perhaps the best place for a Bax novice to start (try the fifth or sixth symphonies for that), but essential for anyone who's fallen for his luscious musical language.

There is a piece of music on this disk I have been searching for ever since I hear'd it on the Geoff HamiltonGardening series, Cottage Gardens. So I am delighted To have found it on this dvd. brianB

Another compulsory purchase for Bax lovers - some rarities, including the fascinating 'Spring Fire'. As always in this series, excellent performances and sound.

Excellent.

I began collecting this series as soon as they became available. The highpoint on this disc is the work Spring Fire. This was played at the Proms a few years ago, but when you have a performance such as this, it would be hard to beat. The whole disc is well worth hearing! Strongly recommended!