Back in the summer of 1996, Chandos cannily repackaged their enterprising and hugely enjoyable Harty series with Bryden Thomson and the Ulster Orchestra at mid-price, the third and final volume of which not only contains the same three items featured on this likeable Naxos newcomer but also throws in an utterly delightful rendering of the boisterous Comedy Overture for good measure. Actually, the two conductors’ approaches complement each other well. Thomson brings the greater epic grandeur and narrative flair to With the Wild Geese, yet Prionnsias O’Duinn’s rather more urgent reading develops a fine thrust and red-blooded drama in the faster music, whilst not missing out on the touching melancholy of the lyrical episodes. The Dublin orchestra are on similarly responsive form in An Irish Symphony, of which O’Duinn gives another unmannered, chipper and thoroughly personable account. I like the mischievous swagger he imparts to ‘The Fair Day’ (the symphony’s impish scherzo), not to mention the vigour of his opening movement, ‘On the Shores of Lough Neagh’, where he knocks nearly two minutes off Thomson’s timing. Perhaps Thomson’s more affectionately relaxed manner pays greater dividends in the charming fantasy for flute, harp and orchestra, In Ireland, where the principals from the NSOI have not quite the grace and character of their Belfast counterparts.
Whatever, both discs are thoroughly recommendable – and neither will break the bank! Chris Craker’s production values for Naxos are first-rate, though Chandos’s outstandingly realistic Ulster Hall sound has the edge in terms of airy bloom and sheer sumptuousness. By the way, I was delighted to see the continuing availability of Sir Alexander Gibson’s stirring RSNO account of With the Wild Geese (part of a much-loved survey entitled ‘Music of the Four Countries’, now available at bargain price on CfP). Very well it continues to sound, too, though the 1968 recording inevitably can’t match the range of either of its digital rivals