Monday, March 26th, 2012
KHCD-2012-019 (STEREO) – Havergal Brian: Symphony No. 22 “Symphonia brevis”; Psalm 23 (Paul Taylor, tenor; Brighton Festival Chorus) – Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra/Lazlo Heltay; English Suite No. 5 “Rustic Scenes” – Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra/Eric Pinkett – Companion disc to KHCD-2012-018, recorded by CBS (UK) in 1974. The “Symphonia brevis”, consisting of two brief movements plus epilogue, characteristically kaleidoscopic in approach, is one of Brian’s most enjoyable later works. The Psalm 23 is relatively short, yet expansive, and a remarkable example of early 20th century choral music. The Rustic Suite is surprisingly tuneful, especially for Brian, lightweight yet memorable. The Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra plays with discipline and commitment; the Psalm 23 receives a most effective performance, joined with the Brighton Festival Chorus and the fine tenor Paul Taylor. A must-have for the Brian collector, and a fine addition to any collection of 20th Century English music. Transcription of the CBS LP was by John Whitmore (former member of the LSSO). I performed the digital remastering with little intervention to the original source material.
Click here for an MP3 sample of this historic recording, available only on Klassic Haus Restorations.
One’s musical journey through life crosses paths with others on the same journey, though perhaps not coming from the same direction. Sometimes, a collaboration from this meeting at the crossroads will develop, leading to a mutual sharing of goals with a larger audience. In this case, the collaboration that developed between a member of the Havergal Brian Society and myself initially through my website has borne fruit that, hopefully, will reach not only the appreciative group of the Society, but extend out toward those who will find great reward in the music presented. In this case, we have before us the restorations I have prepared of two LPs of Havergal Brian’s music, his Symphonies No. 10, 21 and 22, along with the setting of Psalm 23, and the English Suite No.5, performed by the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra. John Whitmore had contacted me initially via email in late December 2011 when he had come across my website, Klassic Haus Restorations, asking if I could make available some of my titles as MP3 downloads. I started Klassic Haus in August 2010 with the goal of reissuing out-of-print historic and special interest classical LPs and reel-to-reel tapes on CD. John gave me the impetus to offer MP3 downloads. In passing, he had asked if I had any interest in Havergal Brian’s work. I said I did, very much so, and had owned at one time as many LPs of his music I could find in the US. I also had a reel tape copy of the 1980 Ole Schmidt/LSO “Gothic” which I lost during a move cross country. John forwarded me web links to the LSSO LPs that are the subject of this restoration, and also put me in touch with Johan Herrenberg of Delft, Netherlands, who graciously provided me with a list of other recommended Brian recordings which I have already sought out. From this point on, I became involved in restoring the remarkable recorded documents of the LSSO. The LPs John transcribed were in excellent condition, requiring minimal click removal, while preserving the analogue ambience of the recordings by Unicorn in 1972 (Symphony No. 10 & 21) and CBS in 1974 (Symphony No. 22, Psalm 23, and the English Suite No.5). Many of you probably know the genesis of these recordings, so I will not belabor the point here. Suffice to say, I am honored to have worked on this project and I hope those who cherish this music will be pleased with the results. Havergal Brian’s music deserves a larger audience, and the restoration of these recordings will hopefully help preserve his musical legacy.
– Curt Timmons, owner/producer, Klassic Haus Restorations