Ralph Vaughan Williams - Sinfonia Antartica/Scott of the Antarctic

CD41
(CD41-024: 5024545556728)

$13.99

An evocative audiobook CD, Sinfonia Antartica combines polar music by Ralph Vaughan Williams with historic sound recordings from the 'heroic age' of British antarctic exploration.

The digitally remastered CD and download combines two related works by Vaughan Williams for the very first time: his acclaimed soundtrack for the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic, and Sinfonia Antartica (Symphony No. 7), a longer work based on the film score. The version included here is the 1953 performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult with narration by Sir John Gielgud.

The 68 minute album also features two versions of a rare Captain Robert Scott tribute song recorded in 1913, 'Tis A Story That Shall Live For Ever, sung by Robert Carr and Stanley Kirkby. Listeners will also hear the voice of fellow polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. In addition to Shackleton's HMV recording made in June 1909, a transfer of his rare March 1910 recording is also included, careful restored from an original Edison blue amberol cylinder.

Reviews: "Brings together rare audio of expeditions and Vaughan Williams' swirling, majestic score for the 1948 Ealing film, with choral shivers and spooky winds gusting in from all directions. If you're in the mood for wild sonic adventure, look no further" (Record Collector, 03/2010)

Tracklist:
1. STANLEY KIRKBY Tis A Story That Shall Live For Ever (1913) 3.30
2. RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Sinfonia Antartica (1953) 44.42 - Prelude, Scherzo, Landscape, Intermezzo, Epilogue
3. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON The Dash for the South Pole (1909) 3.46
4. SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON My South Polar Expedition (1910) 3.40
5. RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Scott of the Antarctic (1948) 8.24 - Prologue, Pony March, Penguins, Climbing the Glacier, The Return, Blizzard, Final Music
6. ROBERT CARR Tis A Story That Shall Live For Ever (1913) 3.10