Rating: Performance 4      Sound 5

"... The storylines and variety of styles and sonorities present in this album of Vaughan Williams’ music, as presented by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis, allow for an enjoyable listening experience from beginning to end."

“...He [Davis] handles the balance and dynamics with sensitivity. The Bergen orchestra plays expressively, with good tone quality, and soloists are excellent. I especially like the sax soloist’s unctuous portrayal of Job’s comforters. Chandos’s sound is, as per usual, excellent. When the organ cuts in near the end, it does so with overwhelming effect...”

“This is an impressive and important recording that sets a new standard for both of these two masterpieces... The Bergen Philharmonic, a long-established and excellent ensemble gives very convincing performances of these large and complex scores... This CD is a first recommendation for both works equally, both in terms of interpretation and recorded sound.”

****

“...This is a demonstrably great disc – a wonderful tribute to the composer – one which places the Bergen Philharmonic in the top flight of European orchestras.”  *****

*** (Good Disc)      **** (Exceptional Sound)

“... a searing performance of the enigmatic ninth symphony ... Even better, though, is Job: a tremendous, Blake-inspired score whose challenges are triumphantly met here. It is one of Vaughan Williams’ most dramatic works and the sheer power of the Bergen forces (that organ!) contrast perfectly with sections of great textural beauty. Superb SACD sound, even for this label.” *****

Recording of the Month

“... Sir Andrew’s new version of Job is a fine achievement and in terms of recorded sound it has to be the finest on the market. It’s also superbly played... So, here we have two very important Vaughan Williams scores – one of them, Job, a masterpiece – in top class performances and magnificently recorded. Expert notes by Stephen Connock set the seal on what must surely be a mandatory purchase for all Vaughan Williams enthusiasts.”

Recording of the Month

Performance *****             Recording *****

“... Davis’s journey through the sequence [Job] is quite briskly paced, but never in a way that’s perfunctory. He also gets a superlative response from the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra... The same top-flight level of playing and conducting graces the Ninth Symphony... In both works the recorded orchestral sound is gorgeously warm, detailed, and naturally balanced.” 

Album of the Week

“...Davis today has no peers in this repertoire, which, added to Chandos’s brilliantly “present” sound engineering, makes this a self-recommending issue.”

Editor’s Choice – Orchestral Section

“... Job receives a performance of striking composure, lustre and palpable dedication. Not only do the Bergen Philharmonic respond with notable poise and eagerness (solo contributions are of the highest quality throughout), Davis conducts with unobtrusive authority as well as a sure hand on the structural tiller, uncovering a wealth of telling harmonic and textural detail along the way ... There’s heaps to praise too, in Davis’s scrupulously observant and nobly unforced conception of the Ninth Symphony ... a mightily impressive Ninth ...”

"This extremely well performed and recorded, 77 minute Chandos album, allows the adventurous to discover two of RVW’s more interesting works... The ballet, Job, was created in 1927 Much of the music is however excellent.  And some parts are very beautiful, such as Elihu’s Dance of Youth and Beauty, which is very reminiscent of the Lark.The sleeve note here details the complicated plot, and gives all the information needed to make this a most enjoyable listen... This 33 minute symphony [Sym No 9] is well worth discovering, and shows what an extraordinary musician RVW was, keeping his creativity and his inspiration going until the very end."  

“... Andrew Davis, vastly experienced as a conductor of this composer, is every bit as idiomatic as the score’s dedicatee and finds the Bergen Philharmonic in virtuoso and sensitive form. From pastoral and hymnal beauty through heart-rending eloquence to Satan’s maniacal music via transcendent eruptions to a return-journey ‘Epilogue’ of rapt tenderness, this is music that gets under the skin and haunts the listener long afterwards... Andrew Davis conducts an inspired performance, superbly recorded, as is Job, the credit for the Domkirken no doubt acknowledging the organ that Job requires and which is specified in detail in the booklet...”     *****

“... impressive surround sound coupling of the composer’s final symphony and his ballet masterpiece Job. The result is particularly cherishable ...   with the organ passage for Satan particular cataclysmic in its impact. The Ninth symphony, too, receives a performance of great distinction. The late Hickox left a remarkable legacy in the Vaughan Williams discography and he has posthumously found the perfect successor in Davis.”

“... Davis’s path through Job is totally lucid, and his handling of the great climaxes is impressive, with the organ (recorded in Bergen Cathedral) weighing in emphatically for the appearance of Satan in the sixth scene...  in both works, the orchestra is exemplary ...”  ****