In case you missed Saturday’s broadcast of “Sweetness and Light,” on which I celebrated the artistry and legacy of Sir Neville Marriner, today marks the centenary of the prolific English conductor’s birth.
With the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the chamber orchestra he founded in 1958, Marriner made over 500 recordings, most of the them for major labels, ensuring wide dissemination of his work. Ever-reliable, Marriner served up interpretively middle-of-the-road performances with elegance and polish. Occasionally, he would even surprise by turning out a world-beater.
At the time I first encountered so many of his recordings, I was just learning the repertoire, and they were being played all the time on the radio (before the internet, the most efficient way to expand one’s musical horizons). So for me there is an added patina of nostalgia surrounding his work for a Golden Age when all was light and love.
Here are 10 Neville Marriner recordings that have brought me joy. Keep in mind the images or record info I post pertains to the original albums. Much of the material has been reissued or repackaged over the years, often in greatly expanded programs. Great, as far as being able to hear and store more music, but there was an art back then to designing a concise album, in which all the elements complemented one another perfectly, so that there was a sense of balance, making for the optimal listening experience. I’d rather be served an exquisitely-planned 50-minute meal than belly-up to an 80-minute all-you-can-eat buffet.
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS – As far as I’m concerned, everything on this album is benchmark. Concertmaster Iona Brown in “The Lark Ascending” is unalloyed bliss, the “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis” is transporting, and the “Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus” is transcendent.
GABRIEL FAURÉ – An enchanting blend of beauty and melancholy. “Masques et Bergamasques” may be my favorite (I actually prefer the “Pavane” in the version without chorus), but “Pelléas et Mélisande” is also achingly gorgeous. I could only find it posted as a YouTube playlist, so you’ll have to let the movements play through.
DAG WIRÉN – Serenade for Strings – From the first CD I ever purchased off a clearance rack. I remember being confused as to why it had been priced so low, as the industry treated CDs like they were gold back then. The Serenade is part of an all-Nordic program that also features music by Grieg, Nielsen, and Sibelius. Sometimes all music has to do is be pleasant to keep you smiling and sane. I would have loved had Sir Neville included Lars-Erik Larsson’s “Pastoral Suite.” But the disc is a winner, as is. Since someone posted the entire album as a single file, I’ve cued the music to the appropriate start time.
FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN – Symphony No. 6 “Le Matin” – Marriner’s Haydn is full of grace and good humor. The Symphony No. 6 opens with a musical sunrise and seems to convey the cheer and promise of a new day. It’s part of an early trilogy of symphonies subtitled for the different day-parts. Even the evening storm in No. 8 is so pleasant. May all your days be as full of delight!
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL – Zadok the Priest – Benchmark! Especially for days when you are about to be coronated.
JOAQUIN RODRIGO – Concierto Andaluz – My favorite of Marriner’s recordings with members of Los Romeros, the “Royal Family of the Guitar.” Spanish music for four guitars and orchestra? Give it!
OTTORINO RESPIGHI – The Birds – You have a hard heart, sir or madam, if you cannot enjoy this. Marriner recorded it at least twice, but my allegiance is with the earlier release on EMI, with the “Three Botticelli Pictures.”
VICTOR HERBERT – Cello Concerto No. 2 – The concerto that’s said to have inspired Dvořák to undertake his own cello masterpiece. Lynn Harrell is the soloist. The companion pieces may require a little bit of a sweet-tooth – this is the same Herbert responsible for all those operettas your grandmother loved – but personally I find the whole disc a delight. The highlight for me is the second movement of this concerto.
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART – Overtures – Whenever I needed a solid recording of a Mozart overture for radio broadcast, I knew I could count on Sir Neville. It’s not for nothing that he was hired as music director for the film “Amadeus.” He also recorded all the Mozart piano concertos with Alfred Brendel and contributed significantly to Philips Classics’ Complete Mozart Edition.
SIR WILLIAM WALTON – Marriner made a series of recordings for Chandos Records of the film music of William Walton. Some of them feature spoken contributions by venerable Shakespearean actors. The complete “Henry V” he did with Christopher Plummer is superb, but I also enjoy the charming suite he documented (on a separate CD, so I’m cheating) of Walton’s early score for “As You Like It.” Again, I could only find “Henry V” posted as a YouTube playlist, so you’ll have to let it play through and probably skip some ads.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kB3AXa2gS18AxjzY5uaoDcmMJXuXiE-Ok
I know, I’m a dinosaur; I still consume physical media. If you do too and you want the most bang for your buck, again, many of these albums have been expanded or repackaged over the years on compact disc. In whatever form, the important thing is the music. So if you’re curious, do try to experience these performances in whatever way you can.
Cumulatively, they’re the very thing to keep you sane, should you be one of those people (like me) who are always pulling out their hair to complete their tax forms by deadline and standing on line at the post office at 11:45 p.m.!
Happy 100th, Sir Neville Marriner, and thank you!
