If there were an international style of conducting
Vaughan Williams',
Bernard Haitink would be its foremost practitioner. But although there have been international conductors who have taken up
Vaughan Williams' very, very English music, virtually all of them took him up with English orchestras.
Slatkin,
Stokowski, even
Rozhdestvensky used English conductors when they led their
Vaughan Williams, and
Haitink, the most international of international conductors, used the
London Philharmonic for his
Vaughan Williams. Ultimately, no matter how international
Haitink's interpretations may be, his
Vaughan Williams performance sounds as English as shepherd's pie. But while one may or may not wish for an international style of conducting for
Vaughan Williams' symphonies, one cannot help but be grateful that
Haitink has the
London Philharmonic in this collection of
Vaughan Williams's shorter works. How else could one wish the modal ecstasy of the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis or the bucolic blessedness of The Lark Ascending or the rolling serenity of In the Fen Country or the pastoral bliss of On Wenlock Edge to sound except as very, very English played by a very, very English orchestra? Along with violinist
Sarah Chang and tenor
Ian Bostridge,
Haitink directs clear-headed but warm-hearted performances that may or may not be English and may or may not be international, but are certainly as deep and moving as the best ever recorded. EMI's digital sound is rich, colorful, detailed, and just about real.