This Dutton release from the Barbirolli Society allows us to compare the conductor’s 1956 stereo EMI recordings of the Introduction & Allegro for Strings and the Elegy for Strings with his mono Pye recordings from 1947. Also included are the 1947 Enigma Variations and the stereo Symphony No. 1 (also from 1956). Barbirolli conducts the Symphony in his characteristically passionate manner– passion that is evident not only in his carefully chosen tempos and sensitive rubato, but that extends to the playing style of the orchestra as well. The strings have an almost pleading tone in their high register–one that allows just a glimpse of Elysian fields in the first movement’s more contemplative passages. It’s a pity that the Hallé players aren’t able to muster the solidity of tone and unanimity of pitch (not to mention attack) that would have ideally realized Sir John’s vision (which the superior Philharmonia Orchestra came closer to doing on his later EMI recording). Still, Barbirolli generates such intense feeling that we can look past the flaws in execution and derive much enjoyment from this performance, captured in three-dimensional stereophonic sound (with more bass information than his second time through).
Orchestral playing is a bit tighter for the stereo Introduction and Allegro, and for the Elegy for Strings, and the sound is cleaner, more dynamic, and more open than on the mono versions included on the second disc (though they also are very good transfers). Barbirolli’s interpretations lost little of their intensity in the years between 1947 and 1956. However, his early Enigma Variations is a fresh reading that crackles with electricity–this with an orchestra not fully up to the task. Tempos move along fluidly, even in “Nimrod” which here has all the nobility and elegance it’s supposed to have. The brief “Lullaby” is a cute bit of fluff that probably wouldn’t lull any child to sleep. Barbirolli fans are surely already reaching for their wallets, but this release is also of major importance to all serious Elgarians.
