Arnold • Overtures
 wenty-five years after releasing the Grammy-nominated Arnold
Overtures, Reference Recordings has reissued it as a 180-gram, half-speed-mastered LP,
and what an LP it is. Paul Stubblebine, who mastered the original CD, returns to do the
remastering for this fine reissue pressed at Quality Record Pressings. Featuring the
London Philharmonic with Sir Malcolm Arnold as conductor, all but Beckus the
Dandipratt were premiere recordings when the CD was released in 1992. Owners of the
previously released CD will note that A Commonwealth Christmas is not included
here, presumably to allow ample room to cut for maximum dynamic range.
Film buffs know Arnold’s music from his award-winning score for The Bridge on the River Kwai. Audiophiles may have discovered Arnold through recordings of his English, Irish, Scottish or Cornish Dance Suites. The overtures here are stylistically closer to film scores than the folk songs used in the Dance Suites, and one can hear some influence of Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and Gershwin in them. Beckus the Dandipratt and A Sussex Overture are the most accessible of the group, with memorable tunes and plenty of bombastic dynamic changes led by the low brass and percussion. The Smoke is a dark, brooding depiction of a large city, with raucous outbursts signaling dread or despair. The percussion crescendo toward the end of the piece and will certainly grab your attention. The Fair Field is more whimsical and is dedicated to Sir William Walton’s friendship and influence on Arnold’s own compositions. I owned two versions of this recording -- CD and 24-bit/176.4kHz download -- but this new LP has become my new favorite, best illustrated by a single passage in A Sussex Overture, which begins with an enormous cymbal crash. With the CD, that passage sounds like a large pair of cymbals with a good recorded decay. The high-resolution download shifts the focus, emphasizing subtle overtone variations of the cymbals during their decay. The new vinyl retains the timbral variations of high-res, but now the focus is on the air and reverb around the crash itself, revealing the hall acoustics. For me, the musically true ambience in all the overtures makes the vinyl superior and greatly enhances my listening sessions. In addition, the vinyl reissue brings greater overall clarity to the orchestra and added weight to the bass trombone, tuba and percussion. Woodwind timbre is spot on, and special note should be made of the fine trumpet solo in the beginning of Beckus the Dandipratt. Interestingly, Arnold performed that solo as principal trumpet of the London Philharmonic when the piece premiered in 1947. One word of caution: the opening cymbal crash of A Sussex Overture is quite powerful and will challenge your tweeters and ears, so set your playback level accordingly. This re-release of Arnold Overtures is a gem and
worth rebuying even if you own the music in another format. I've thoroughly enjoyed this
recording and Sir Malcolm’s enthusiastic interpretation of his own compositions. |
