This is Volume 2 in Pearl’s British film music series, and it suffers from many of the same production problems as Volume 1. These are the original monaural recordings taken from the films in question, some of which go back to the early 1930s (the very earliest is Arthur Bliss’ music to the sci-fi classic Things to Come). Modern listeners might not be able to get past these scratchy and in some instances corrupted recordings. However, the music itself is quite good.
Bliss’ aforementioned Things to Come and Arnold Bax’s music to Malta G.C. are filled with rousing themes and nostalgic interludes that make the movies themselves the classics they are. They almost beg for modern, updated performances. The other selections of merit are Vaughan Williams’ scores for Coastal Command and 49th Parallel. In Coastal Command you can hear tidbits that hark back to Vaughan Williams’ Third Symphony and hint at the dark Fourth Symphony to come. 49th Parallel is only represented by the “Epilogue” to the film, but it’s a real heartbreaker. Its melancholy is surprisingly restrained for Vaughan Williams, and within its brief four minutes are the seeds of his Sixth Symphony. It should be better known than it is. In fact, all of this music should be better known, but in higher quality recordings. But since this series is the only one of its kind on the market, that alone could be enough to recommend it–for the time being. [10/28/2000]
