Neeme Järvi’s performances of these sadly neglected (in performance at least) tone poems originally appeared in tandem with his complete symphony cycle, and they have the same general virtues. They are excitingly played and conducted, and for the most part well recorded. I say “for the most part,” because Chandos’ work is inconsistent, ranging from just about perfect (The Wood Dove; The Hero’s Song) to excessively reverberant, with a tubby bass (The Noon Witch; The Water Goblin). Mind you, none of these performances is sonically terrible, but the variation is curious, particularly from a company that has shown that it can make stunning recordings with these forces. Still, I doubt that anyone will be disappointed with either sound or performances for the most part, and as there is no other set containing all five major tone poems (the overture My Home is a bonus), what really matters is that music lovers can get the whole set at a very reasonable price.
