The F minor may well be
Ralph Vaughan Williams' most dissonant work. But, let's face it, how dissonant is that?
Vaughan Williams was no Berg or
Bartók and, even at his most dissonant, he's still not all that dissonant. Because no matter how dissonant
Vaughan Williams gets, he's never without his trusty key signature as a guide. So no matter how aggressive most of the earlier recordings of the F minor got, they always seem to be overstating their case, as if the angrier
Vaughan Williams gets, the better
Vaughan Williams gets.
In this recording of the F minor with the
Bournemouth Symphony,
Paul Daniel doesn't overstate the case for anger, but he doesn't understate it, either. The first movement's famous opening harmonic clash is as ferocious as ever, but the coda is more serene and sublime. The following slow and scherzo movement are as malevolent as ever, but the finale's blasting fugato is balanced by a transcendent and transforming central span.
Daniel's control of the
Bournemouth is complete, but he allows the soloists room to breathe and sing. Altogether,
Daniel's F minor has its regulation amount of dissonance, it does not have more than its fair share and the work is the better for it. The Norfolk Rhapsody and Flos Campi Suite that follow the F minor are rambunctious and voluptuous and just as successful as the Symphony. Naxos' sound is strong, rich, and immediate.