Re-Play Classic Experience II

Background 

For the first of my Re-play posts, I have decided to focus on a classical album of the type that have purists throwing their hands up in horror! I think it’s important to reflect on the aim of these records at the time. Rather like Classic FM the aim was perhaps to introduce listeners to a range of ‘light classics’ as a gateway to more extensive research into the classical realm. Well, that’s the way it worked with me. Many listeners, of course, will have stayed with the selections on this album and, to quote Paul McCartney, on the subject of Silly Love Songs, ‘What’s wrong with that, I’d like to know?’ 

I think that there is an element of gatekeeping when it comes to classical music, with a ‘ranking’ of pieces according to their perceived value. Once a piece of music appears on a TV programme, or worse still an advert, it is regarded by some as in some way tarnished. Now, many of my generation will have first heard classical selections on cartoons like the Looney Tunes classic, ‘What’s Opera, Doc?’ featuring the Ring cycle in about 10 minutes and ‘The Cat Concerto’ built around Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. There are many other examples, some of which are on this album. Sadly, this accessibility that young children have to classical pieces reduces as they get older, and eventually classical music becomes a more elitist pastime. Schools had a lot to do with this in my childhood, not because they didn’t play any classical music, but because the focus was on analysis not enjoyment. When the Classic Experience vinyl arrived, I was in the right frame of mind to explore classical music and I never really looked back.  

Classic Experience II – Standout Tracks 

Side One starts off with a heavy hitter. It’s the X Factor judges walk on music, or the Old Spice advert or the song from Final Fantasy VII, depending on your cultural background! Oh, OK, it’s O Fortuna from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana! The first thing you notice is that the power of the piece is intact despite its regular use outside of the concert hall. What this album does is to separate the tracks from their cultural baggage allowing you to listen to them in their ‘natural’ settings. This is helped by the quality of the performance which is very high, in common with the rest of the album. EMI records who produced this compilation didn’t go down the route of re-recording these tracks, but then why would you when you have access to the cream of classical artists like Andre Previn (though not Greig’s Piano Concerto sadly), Jacqueline Du Pre and Nigel Kennedy amongst others. 

Hall of the Mountain King by Greig, the fourth track on Side One is the Halle Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbarolli and they produce a bravura performance which takes full advantage of the gradual increase in pace throughout the piece. I first came across this piece as Hall of the Mountain Womble arranged by Mike Batt and it’s all I can do not to chant ‘Womble, Womble. Womble, Womble’ at the appropriate point! Those of you in the UK may know it best as the tune used in the Alton Towers advert. 

Side Two, Track Eight is the Adagio for Strings by Barber used most famously in BBC comedy drama Butterflies as Ria’s theme and in the 80s movie Platoon. The mournful, reflective nature of the piece is extremely moving and lends itself very well to deep sadness. Played here by the Philadelphia Orchestra it is able to leave its popular culture past behind and impress you anew with its aching beauty.    

My favourite track on Side Three is the Eighth track, A Musical Joke by Mozart. For anyone brought up in the 70s this incredibly infectious piece of music was the introduction to the Horse of the Year Show. According to the fascinating sleeve notes, one of the best aspects of the series, it was written as a parody of the bad music written by his contemporaries. Mind you, probably everything that Mozart heard was a poor second best so he may have been setting an impossibly high bar! 

My final choice is the Third track on Side Four which is an excerpt from Jupiter by Gustav Holst with the music that became the setting for the hymn I Vow to Thee My Country. That is something else that this selection does so well. It focuses in on the most familiar elements of the tunes and it is this that makes the entire collection so appealing. Once again, the conductor is a true legend, Sir Adrian Boult. 

Reflection 

I had not listened to this album in perhaps 30 years, but it was full of instantly recognisable music and it was a perfect background to my essay marking. Whereas I might find odd pieces of classical music if I was on You Tube or on a streaming site, I would not have settled properly to listen to all of the selections. The rediscovery of complete albums and the pleasure I get from them is definitely one of the best parts of reuniting with vinyl. Don’t dismiss albums like this, whether you are a purist or a populist, because in the Classic Experience collection they knew how to put the pieces together, choose the best performances and develop fantastic notes for non-aficionados.