If I described the tone of a classical tuba player as “flubbery”, would you know what I meant? James Gourley’s initial attacks can be mushy, presented with a soft, lippy quality. His tone in pianissimo sometimes is a bit watery and only rarely takes on the warmth and lyrical sound of which the tuba is surprisingly capable.
Gourlay’s selection of concertos is also disappointing. The first two pieces on the disc are examples of uninspired by-the-numbers composition. In Roger Steptoe’s 1983 work this is literally the case, as his concerto is based on serial techniques and lacks any perceivable scrap of imagination to distinguish it from the yards and yards of such compositions that poured from conservatories during that period. At least it has the virtue of not being aggressively ugly, as Steptoe’s tone row consists primarily of consonant intervals.
The 1978 concerto by Edward Gregson (Gourlay’s boss at the Royal Northern Academy of Music) is tonal, but not better. Initially a piece for brass band but rescored for orchestra, it remains in the mold of its first incarnation, failing to offer anything original that might put off the judges at one of Britain’s ubiquitous brass band competitions.
By contrast, John Golland’s concerto has moments of inspiration in its slow movement, where lonely tuba solo sounds are pitted against soft brass chords and a mysterious vibraphone. The outer movements have their fun moments, but the 5/8 and 7/8 rhythms are oddly blasé and square. Nevertheless, this is the one concerto on the disc that is not harmed by the soloist’s technical limitations.
Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto is an acknowledged masterpiece. Here it serves the purpose of spotlighting Gourley’s faults, both in technique and in musicality. This performance is as close to dull as I’ve ever heard, far removed from the still unmatched 1960s John Fletcher RCA recording with André Previn. Overall, the engineering gives too much prominence to the soloist; the tuba sounds bigger than the whole brass section and the smallish violin section is even more wimpy, diminished to an unpretty little lump in the left channel.
