Hyperion’s attractively packaged Helios series has been serving up some remarkable bargains of late, few more desirable than the present pair.
The Dartington Trio’s enterprising Frank Bridge anthology from 1988 continues to sound very well indeed, and the performances display a clear-headed sensitivity and infectious dedication that do not disappoint. In the towering Second Piano Trio of 1929 I would not, on the whole, prefer their comparatively expansive realisation to the altogether tauter approach of the Bernard Roberts Piano Trio, let alone the Tunnell Trio’s magnificent, pioneering account on a long-deleted 1978 Argo LP (a prime candidate, I would have thought, for reissue within Decca’s promising new British Music Collection). Nor would I want to be without Benjamin Britten’s raptly intuitive rendering of the gorgeous Phantasy Quartet with members of the Amadeus Quartet (recorded live at the 1967 Aldeburgh Festival). All the same, this remains a most likeable collection and at its new low price is terrific value.
The reappearance of Divertimenti’s shapely 1984 account of Herbert Howells’ masterly In Gloucestershire (the last of his three works for string quartet) is all the more valuable now that the Britten Quartet’s magisterial 1995 version on EMI British Composers (4/97 – nla) has disappeared from the catalogue. If you don’t yet know this exquisitely wrought, hauntingly atmospheric creation (Howells’ most extended chamber offering), let me urge immediate investigation.
The coupling, too, is a delight. Completed between 1905 and 1912, Dyson’s youthful Three Rhapsodies form a most appealing triptych, un-commonly fluent, tightly knit and always evincing an engaging, at times positively Straussian lyrical grace. Divertimenti give another first-rate display brimful of commitment and communicative warmth. Bob Auger’s airy, natural sound complements a budget-priced reissue that is absolutely not to be missed