The Lyrita recordings are one of the minor-miracles of the recording industry. They have no right to be as successful as they are;
1) Unfamiliar/hard repertoire for the orchestra
2) Conductors brought in late in repertoire they did not know and were not known for
3) Sessions running out of time (I seem to remember reading that at least one of the syymphonies has a movement recordied in a single take because of not more time...?)
Any ONE of the above could risk a session "failing". All three seems like a recipe for disaster yet what we have remain for most Bax collectors the performances against which all other are measured. Figure that one out!
Nick, I agree with you (and the general critical consensus) that Thomson's recording of the Bax Fourth in Belfast was notably sonically superior to the rest of his series, recorded in Tooting. (If memory serves, that Fourth won a Gramophone Award for sound - deservedly, in my opinion.)
Like Mikeh, I seem to be in a minority concerning Chandos' sound, although in regard to Handley's justly celebrated performances of all Bax's symphonies, recorded in BBC studios in Manchester. Accepting Nick's judgement that these venues are 'pretty neutral spaces acoustically' my reservations may arise primarily from the microphone set up.
Whatever the cause, I have always found Handley's set to be significantly compromised by a flat, back-of-the-hall orchestral image which does not convey the full impact of Bax's powerful climaxes and which is also somewhat lacking in definition. Some early reviews claimed superior clarity and impact for these recordings - qualities which, regrettably, I just don't hear. Comparison with Lyrita's incomplete series (engineered by Decca) clinch the matter for me: the venerable analogue Lyritas still have gloriously full-bodied, expansive sound which is, at the same time, as clear and pristine as a mountain stream. Surely this is the way to hear Bax.
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