Review:

on 2011-02-21 CharlesMartel Said:

This CD represents a solid compilation of works by Samuel Barber, probably twentieth century America's greatest classical composer (in the traditional sense). The pieces date from the forties and are inextricably linked with the First and Second World Wars which colours the music. Yet this is not music which can only be understood in the context of its time. Played with feeling and intensity on this CD by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, if you like the works of Barber, this is a good summary of the more famous of his pieces.

Naturally, it is "Adagio for Strings" which will be the most instantly recognisable piece here. It is a heart-rendingly sad piece of music which has been used before as part of the soundtrack in the film Platoon. However, such is the piece's renown that it has been used, in whole or in part, as the soundtrack for many other films, including The Elephant Man (unsurprisingly) and Kevin and Perry Go Large (WTF - I am not kidding!!). It has also featured on several TV series, not the least of which have been South Park, Red Dwarf and three episodes of The Simpsons.

Perhaps the most apt match of video to this music I have come across was a slow motion newsreel of British soldiers going over the top of the trenches in the First World War. The music fit the sadness and futility of that scene perfectly. As a consequence of this and other associations, this piece of music has come to be associated with the horror and the futility of war. It remains an intensely sad piece of music, full of foreboding and horror at the destruction of life. I defy anyone not to be moved by this and the associations with which it comes. It is also the most frequently requested piece of music downloaded from iTunes, such is the recognition it has.

Of the other two pieces included on the album, "the Medea Suite" is an altogether different piece of work. It was a seven piece suite originally designed for the ballet but five years after it was written Barber cut it down to a single suite using what he regarded as the best parts of the original and retitled it "Medea's Dance of Vengeance". True appreciation of it requires some knowledge of the Greek myth on which it is based, but it is still a fine piece of modern classical music. It manages to convey, without sounding forced, the essential human tragedy of the personal conflict between Jason and Medea, something which was no doubt rooted in the wartime experiences of Barber and his contemporaries.

"The Cello Concerto" is also worth checking out but I feel is perhaps one of Barber's less accessible and less enjoyable works. It was originally commissioned for a talented Russian cellist, Raya Garbousova, by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. However, it has never been performed frequently as it is a technically difficult piece to perform.

All in all, an album well worth getting if you wish to get into some of the more accessible end of classical music. On the strength of this, Barber well deserves the accolades he gets for his work.
Rating: 7/10