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Getting
Started
Click here for eight
essential discs reviewed!
It's always difficult to know where to
start if you're coming to a composer for the first time, and
although Moeran's overall output was not extensive by comparison
to others, there is still quite a body of work. As the aim
of this site is not only to add to the enjoyment and knowledge
of existing Moeran lovers, but also to help introduce new
listeners to hitherto hidden delights, this short guide should
help point you in the direction of currently available recordings.
I've split the reviews into logical sections,
as with the site itself, and suggest you start with the area
you're most likely to enjoy and build up from there. In my
case it was Moeran's chamber music, but if it's a large orchestral
sound your looking for scroll the page down a little further
and start there.
Note - See
also individual work pages for star ratings for all recordings
 This
is what started me off as a Moeran devotee - via the string quartets
and quintets of other early 20th century composers such as Fauré
and Ravel. In fact, Moeran's string quartets do owe quite a debt
to Ravel's offering, albeit with a somewhat Irish flavour - in a
concert of his chamber music at the Wigmore Hall in January 1923
he was not afraid to offer Ravel's quartet alongside his own and
his Violin Sonata.
 Whilst
the Piano Trio of 1920 is one of
my favourite works, and comes on an excellent disc on ASV
(Catalogue Number: CDDCA1045 ) coupled with the String
Quartets and the Fantasy Quartet
for Oboe and Strings of 1946 at £11.99, I really have
to recommend the budget priced Maggini Quartet's disc on Naxos
(Catalogue Number: 8554079) as the best five pounds you'll ever
spend. This pairs the two String Quartets
with the String Trio of 1931 - a
fascinating work that sits on the cusp of Moeran's mature development
of style.
 This
is a simple choice - given that there is currently only one
disc available and it is indeed excellent. Eric
Parkin's 1994 CD of the Complete
Piano Works (Stafford, Catalogue Number: JMSCD2) covers
all of Moeran's published solo piano music, spanning the years
1919 to 1933, and does so admirably. The recording quality
is good, if a little low-level and there is a slight degree
of background noise form the room when you turn up the volume.
On the whole the pieces are relatively short - only the Theme
and Variations of 1920 exceeds 10
minutes in length, with the majority coming in at around 4
minutes or thereabouts. In general the music is welcoming
rather than challenging, much of it showing the influence
of John Ireland. Piano music lovers should really have a copy
of this £11.99 disc in their collection.
 At
first site this seems a simple category to fill. Although the Chandos
recording of the Symphony
(Catalogue Number: CHAN7106), coupled with the highly accessible
mid-forties Rhapsody for Piano and
Orchestra is tempting at £8.99,
I would have to plump for the double bill of concertos first. For
the same price you get the Violin
Concerto and Cello
Concerto, plus the Two
Pieces for Small Orchestra, Lonely
Waters and Whythorne's
Shadow on an excellent disc, also from
Chandos
(Catalogue Number: CHAN7078). The playing of soloists Lydia
Mordkovitch (violin) and Raphael Wallfisch (cello) on both of these
concertos is excellent, and the Violin
Concerto must rate as Moeran's most immediately
accessible large-scale works. Buy this one first, then move onto
the Symphony
- or better still try both! Don't forget that a much earlier recording
of the Violin Concerto
is available to listen to in full on this site - click
here.
 But
where to go next? Do we head for the Sinfonietta?
Or perhaps the earlier orchestral Rhapsodies?
And what about Moeran's final orchestral work, the Serenade
in G of 1948? At this point it becomes more a matter
of personal taste. The Serenade
is not considered Moeran's finest hour, though the £11.99
1990 Chandos
recording (Catalogue Number: CHAN8808) which restores
the two movements removed on the insistence of Moeran's publisher
does much to improve the work's reputation. This disc also
includes the beautiful, Delian Nocturne
of 1934 and works by Moeran's friend Peter Warlock - Capriol
Suite and Serenade, and seems a more satisfying coupling than
the recording of the shorter, published version on EMI
(Catalogue Number: CDM7647212) at £8.99, which also
includes the Sinfonietta and
works by Gerald Finzi. The Sinfonietta
I found a little hard to really get to love, especially in
this recording, but I know others feel quite differently.
 As
for the Rhapsodies, well they're
certainly tuneful and enjoyable. Moeran's first two Rhapsodies are
both relatively early works, though the second was revised in 1941,
and at times one suspects Moeran is still honing his talents - there
are some great melodies to be found, but occasionally they are let
down somewhat by overall structural difficulties. On the Chandos
CD (Catalogue Number: CHAN8639) that brings all the Rhapsodies
together, you also get another early orchestral work, the perhaps
less successful In The Mountain Country
of 1921, for £11.49, but if you've taken my advice and bought
the Symphony you'll already have
this recording of the Piano Rhapsody.
The recordings are good, but in musical terms much of this is probably
second tier by comparison to the Symphony
and Concertos.
 Here
the choice becomes more limited - as you can see from the list to
the right there is a dearth of recordings, particularly with the
songs. The only work for orchestra and choir, the Nocturne,
was noted earlier. But lovers of vocal music need not despair, as
the Chandos
CD (Catalogue Number: CHAN9182) that brings together the lovely
Songs of Springtime
of 1931 and madrigal-esque Phyllida
and Corydon of 1939 together with a selection
of works by Warlock is an excellent introduction to both at £11.99.
The unaccompanied Finzi Singers do great justice to works which
are often taxing for any choir. At the moment I await my disc of
the folksong collections, so can't offer comment on these, and as
for individual songs, well I suggest following the links and seeing
what else is on the disc - often a single Moeran song is slotted
amongst a set of others which you may or may not want.
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