Brian: Symphony No. 1 "the Gothic Symphony"

Susan Gritton (soprano), Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano), Peter Auty (tenor), Alastair Miles (bass), David Goode (organ) & BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Concert Orchestra, The Bach Choir, BBC National Chorus of Wales, Brighton Festival Chorus, CBSO Youth Chorus, Côr Caerdydd, Eltham College Boys’ Choir, Huddersfield Choral Society & London Symphony Chorus, Martyn Brabbins

Havergal Brians "Gotische" Symfonie wordt wel de langste symfonie ooit geschreven genoemd, en ook de symfonie die de meeste musici vereist om uit te voeren. De uitvoering van de Proms in 2011 was de eerste keer dat dit cijfer in bijna ideale vorm werd gehaald en overtroffen: In totaal waren er meer dan 800 zangers en instrumentalisten bij betrokken. De Gothic, die in een periode van ongeveer acht jaar tot stand kwam, combineert twee lang gekoesterde plannen: een werk over Goethe's Faust en een toonzetting van het Te Deum. Naast de "allesomvattende" benadering van instrumentatie is de Gotische"Symfonie" ook een encyclopedische verzameling van muzikale stijlen, van echo's van Gregoriaanse en Elizabethaanse kerkmuziek tot atonaliteit en pulserende clusterakkoorden.

Brian:
Symphony No. 1 'Gothic'

"Credit to Martyn Brabbins for overseeing a performance which emphatically does not play it safe: enabling the piece to be appreciated for a formal evolution as oblique and purposeful as is its emotional progression...the discreet but intent control exerted over the vast numbers leaves no doubt as to his conviction. That the capacity audience betrays so few sign of its presence says much in itself."
International Record Review - January 2012

"Hyperion's release is a perfect one, of a great event, a magisterial work and an encapsulation of the enormous difficulties of the project as a whole...[Brabbins emphasises] the kaleidoscopic variety of speeds, textures and invention in the score. Aided by Hyperion's sensational sound, details which barely registered before become crystal clear...I cannot recommend it strongly enough."
Gramophone Magazine - February 2012

"The best [recording] yet. There's an ongoing buzz of Proms atmosphere that grips from start to finish; and the recorded sound succeeds phenomenally at somehow fitting Brian's hugest climaxes alongside the delicate scoring of other passages into a convincing perspective. Under Brabbins's forthright direction, even the work's poorer passages (and whatever Brian's fanatical supporters say, there are plenty) don't sprawl."
BBC Music Magazine - March 2012****