This new release on the Hallé Orchestra’s own label presents the ensemble in fine form as Mark Elder leads a persuasive account of Elgar’s Symphony No. 1. Elder shies away from the taut muscularity of Solti (and to a lesser degree Slatkin) and leans slightly more toward the expansiveness of Haitink and Bryden Thomson, with measured pacing that still manages to convey the music’s turbulent emotions. The first movement accumulates power as it goes, benefiting both from Elder’s emphasis on tight rhythms and from bold playing by the brass (especially the trombones). After a stirring Scherzo, Elder tightens up on the tempo for the Adagio, giving it a welcome shapeliness and continuity that makes the music sound more focused than it usually does. There’s focus aplenty in the finale as well, though Elder doesn’t render it with the intensity of Slatkin (whose RCA recording remains a prime recommendation) or as sensuously as Barbirolli. Still, in this movement the Hallé Orchestra equits itself handsomely, with strings sounding secure in the surging rhythms of Elgar’s frenzied allegro.
In the South also receives a fine performance, with Elder whipping up the strings and brass to a vivid portrayal of the opening’s Straussian splendor. He really turns up the heat for the dramatic “Roman ruins” sequence, with brass and percussion sounding wonderfully gritty (although you’ll have to turn to Silvestri, Solti, or Slatkin for real ferocity in this passage). As a bonus, the disc includes In the Moonlight, Elgar’s song setting (to verses by Shelley) of the “canto populare” melody from In the South’s central quiet episode. It’s beautifully sung by Christine Rice accompanied by Elder at the piano. The recorded sound is full, spacious, and well balanced. In all, this is a fine offering on the new Hallé Label, and a welcome change of pace from the far less appealing Nielsen Fifth issued simultaneously with this newcomer.
