A highly accomplished, indeed commanding performance of Finzi’s gorgeous Clarinet Concerto from Northern Sinfonia principal, Robert Plane. With his bright, singing tone and effortless technical mastery, Plane leaves at least as stylish an impression as both Emma Johnson and Andrew Marriner: if the former perhaps displays a marginally greater sense of improvisatory fantasy in her phrasing, there’s certainly no shortage of intuitive poetry from Plane in the sublime central Adagio (though his contribution at times lacks that last ounce of rapt hush that makes Johnson’s reading so special). Moreover, Howard Griffiths’s conducting is arguably more cogent than that of either Groves or Marriner pere. In the finale, for instance, how perceptively Griffiths relates the first violins’ playful staccato writing from 2'19'' back to those imposing (and here splendidly unanimous) martellato gestures at 0'42'' and 6'36'' in the opening Allegro vigoroso – a tiny observation, but one symptomatic of his thoughtfully etched conception as a whole.
We also get an atmospheric account of Lawrence Ashmore’s idiomatic orchestration of the Five Bagatelles (with the poignant “Romance” a highlight), as well as exquisitely drawn renderings of both the Romance for strings and “Three Soliloquies” from Finzi’s incidental music for a 1946 BBC production of Love’s Labour’s Lost. The fragrant, very early Severn Rhapsody (1923) makes a welcome return to the catalogue under Griffiths’s deeply felt advocacy, and Lesley Hatfield makes a touching soloist in the radiant Introit (the slow movement of a withdrawn Violin Concerto from 1925-7).
Tim Handley’s sound and balance are extremely truthful, though the acoustic may be a little over-resonant for some tastes. Really helpful presentation too. All in all, another remarkable British music bargain from Naxos.'