Ernest John Moeran (1894-1950)
Symphony in G minor (1937)
Violin Concerto (1942)
Albert Sammons (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra/Adrian Boult
rec. 28 April 1946, live, St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, UK (Concerto), 9 February 1949, Royal Albert Hall, London, UK (Symphony)
Includes QR code digital access to the 10 April 1946 recording of the Cello Concerto with Peers Coetmore, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Adrian Boult
SOMM Ariadne 5045 [74]
Arguably, we live in times that are too obsessed with anniversaries, and not just in the musical world. On the other hand, it can be a very good thing if anniversaries serve as a prompt to remember composers or artists whose star nowadays shines less brightly than was once the case. E J Moeran would probably fall into that category. Recordings keep his music before the public but live performances of his works are not as frequent as one might desire. This year (2025) is the 75th anniversary of his death, a milestone which seems to have passed by the attention of most record labels. SOMM is, however, an honourable exception; they have marked the anniversary with this release of new audio restorations of three important scores. Actually, I will only consider two of them in this review. I have been listening to the CD release of the Symphony and the Violin Concerto. There wasn’t space, without (I presume) providing a second, very short CD, to include Lani Spahr’s audio restoration of the 1946 performance by Moeran’s wife, Peers Coetmore of the Cello Concerto. SOMM have made that available as a digital download and Stephen Lloyd covers it fully in the booklet. However, I don’t have the connectivity between my computer and my hi-fi set up to enable me to do proper justice to the recorded sound of any download. Consequently, I have not dealt with the Cello Concerto in this review; instead, I refer you to the thorough appraisal by my colleague Nick Barnard, a link to which is provided at the foot of this review.
From Stephen Lloyd’s excellent booklet essay I learned that initially Moeran was not keen on the idea of Boult conducting his G minor Symphony; he was much more favourably disposed towards the work’s dedicatee, Sir Hamilton Harty – though Harty’s death in 1941 put paid to any hopes that he might conduct the symphony – or to Leslie Heward, who conducted the premiere in 1938 and subsequently made a fine first recording of the score in 1942; that recording was issued by Dutton in a very good transfer in 1993 (CDAX 8001). Later, though, Moeran was won over by Boult’s conducting of the work in this 1949 performance, which the composer attended. The booklet quotes Moeran’s enthusiastic comments in a letter to Peers Coetmore: “Boult rose to the occasion and gave [the symphony] a fine performance, really good. …He knew the score backwards and has his own ideas and suggestions and played it like he does Elgar”. One only wishes that Moeran could have heard the superb studio recording of the work which Boult made in 1975 (review). That recording remains the benchmark and is, of course, presented in excellent modern analogue sound; however, thanks to Lani Spahr and SOMM we can now hear for ourselves that Moeran experienced, as he said, a fine account of his symphony that February evening in 1949.
This 1949 performance is conveyed in sound that is far better than one has the right to expect. True, the timpani can sound a little ‘boomy’ when playing loudly but overall, one gets a very good aural picture of the orchestra and also a sense of the hall in which they were playing. The performance itself is very well worth hearing. In the first movement, Boult puts over the poetic passages very well indeed but what registers particularly is the spirited nature of the music-making. There are occasions when the playing is a bit scrappy but I think that can be overlooked in view of the vitality of the performance. In the Leslie Heward recording with the Hallé one doesn’t hear any such scrappiness but it’s important to remember that Heward’s performance was set down under studio conditions and Moeran is quoted in SOMM’s booklet to the effect that Heward had twelve hours of rehearsal prior to the sessions. Boult’s account is very good and the closing pages of the movement are genuinely exciting. In the Lento second movement Boult is a trifle more expansive than would be the case in his Lyrita recording, but the difference is not huge and I like the way in which Boult puts over – in both recordings – the legendary, Sibelian quality of the music. There’s atmosphere a-plenty in this 1949 rendition and the BBCSO responds well to Boult’s direction. The Vivace third movement is, if anything, even more indebted to Sibelius; Boult leads a nimble performance. The finale is also successful. There’s ample tension in the Lento introduction, after which the Allegro molto is full of life. Mid-movement there’s a slower passage which is highly Elgarian in nature; Boult brings out the poetry here but then he whips the performance up very well indeed in the succeeding episode, which is so reminiscent of Tapiola. Sibelius continues to exert his benign influence at the very end; the closing chords betray that Moeran was very familiar with the Finnish master’s Fifth Symphony.
This is a notable account of the Moeran symphony. The recorded sound on the Leslie Heward version is better but, of course, that was a studio account. No one will be disappointed by the audio side of this Boult performance and it’s extremely valuable to have this reading, with the electricity of a live account, to complement his masterly Lyrita recording.
However, for all the manifold virtues of the performance of the symphony, the real prize here – the buried treasure – is the truly remarkable performance of the Violin Concerto by Albert Sammons (1886-1957). These recordings – and the recording of the Cello Concerto – have come down to us by courtesy of Lionel Hill. He was Sammons’ son-in-law and he became acquainted with Moeran in the last seven years of the composer’s life. (He later published a book, Lonely waters; the diary of a friendship with E J Moeran, in 1985.) He made these recordings – and several others – off-air from BBC broadcasts and he also attended the 1949 performance of the symphony with Moeran. Stephen Lloyd tells us that Hill met Moeran for the first time at the premiere of the Violin Concerto (in 1942, when Arthur Catterall was the soloist and Sir Henry Wood conducted). It seems that it was Hill who persuaded Sammons to take up the Moeran concerto; and not a moment too soon. Sammons was already suffering the effects of Parkinson’s disease and was understandably reluctant to learn new repertoire. However, he was convinced by Hill and he played the concerto in August 1945 at the Proms with Boult on the rostrum. Some eight months later, Sammons and Boult combined for what was to be not just Sammons’ second and last performance of the Moeran concerto but his last-ever concerto performance; that’s what is preserved here. He continued to perform in recital until early 1948 and then retired.
I’ve heard a number of other recordings of this work but never one that has moved me more. I think that’s because Albert Sammons’ playing of the reflective passages in which this work abounds is so lyrical and expressive. The violinist makes an immediate impression with his lovely, eloquent phrases at the very start of the work. He never dawdles but throughout this performance he seems to have all the time that he needs in order to give the music the space that it requires if it’s to make its full effect. I think it helps on this occasion that he’s quite forwardly balanced – though not in such a way that the orchestra cannot be clearly heard. The recorded balance is assisted by the fact that, by comparison with the symphony, this concerto performance was given in a smaller hall than the cavernous Royal Albert Hall. The virtuoso passagework in this movement is impressively delivered, but again and again it’s the lyrical sections which make the strongest impression.
In the Rondo: Vivace second movement Sammons offers some dazzling playing, but such is the nature of Moeran’s writing that even here there are lyrical opportunities, all of which are grasped. I very much enjoyed the performance of this cheerful, extrovert movement, in which Boult and the BBCSO play their full part. It’s quite unusual to conclude a concerto with a slow movement but in that respect, Moeran has saved the best till last. The opening of the finale is simply ravishing here, with wonderful poetry from both Sammons and from the orchestra (the clarinet solos are a special delight). This movement is beautiful from start to finish and Sammons’ playing is simply captivating. He’s supported with great sensitivity by Boult and the orchestra. The very end of the work is quite magical in this performance. I think this performance has appeared on CD before, quite some years ago. However, I’m not at all sure that the CD in question is still available; even if it is, the combination of the concerto and Boult’s fine reading of the symphony makes this SOMM disc an unmissable pairing. I have heard a later (1954) recording of the concerto conducted by Boult, this time with Alfredo Campoli as soloist. When I reviewed that release back in 2006 I found much to enjoy but I said “[s]ome may find Campoli’s approach too intense”. Well, I’ve been back to that disc now and when I set the Campoli performance beside Sammons’ reading, I definitely find Campoli too intense. He’s much more upfront than Sammons, especially in the third movement, and his performance lacks the intimate, thoughtful style which make Sammons’ performance so very satisfying. I’d go so far as to say that this new release of the Violin Concerto is one of the most significant historic releases that has come my way in years; thank goodness that this exceptional performance, showing the mastery and sensitivity of Albert Sammons, has been presented in such excellent sound.
Indeed, I can only salute Lani Spahr for his audio restoration. He has worked his magic on both recordings and in so doing has presented these memorable performances in the best possible light. Paul Arden-Taylor has clearly done an expert job too in mastering the results for CD. Stephen Lloyd’s essay is excellent, containing lots of relevant background information presented in a highly readable way.
John Quinn
Previous reviews: Nick Barnard (October 2025) ~ Jonathan Woolf (November 2025)
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