Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Anyone who loves twentieth century music, who loves English music, or who just plain loves music will love this collection of the music of
Michael Tippett. Culled from previously issued but long out-of-print Philips, London, Argo, and l'Oiseau-Lyre LPs, most of these recordings were world premieres made in close consultation with the composer and in the hands of conductors
Colin Davis,
Georg Solti,
Neville Marriner, pianist
Paul Crossley, and the Lindsay String Quartet, they receive what can fairly be described as definitive performances. From the ecstatic lyricism of the Suite for Double String Orchestra of 1939 through the luminous vitality of the First Symphony of 1945, the radiant sensuality of the Ritual Dances of 1955, the blues-based modernism of the Third Symphony of 1972, to the glistening transcendentalism of the Fourth Symphony of 1977,
Tippett's unique fusion of line, drive, color, and form is performed throughout with passionate dedication and absolute faith in the music's greatness. Inevitably, there are glaring omissions. None of
Tippett's operas are here and nor are his last two string quartets or his final piano sonata. But these losses are compensated for by bonuses like the warmly angular Sonata for Four Horns from 1955 performed by the Barry Tuckwell Horn Quartet or the brief but brilliant Fanfare for Brass from 1943 performed by the
Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. Reissued in Decca's uniformly transparent sound, this is surely one of the best and most important releases of the year.