Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra & Sir Andrew Davis - Vaughan Williams: Job & Symphony No. 9 (2017)

The projected complete cycle of Vaughan Williams’s symphonies started by the late Richard Hickox has left a precious heritage in the discography of the composer. Now, conducting the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, another great authority in British repertoire, Sir Andrew Davis, takes on the challenge of completing the series with idiomatic interpretations of two masterpieces: the final Symphony (No. 9) and the ballet Job.

The score of Job places an emphasis on tableau-like scenes, dances, and mime, linking it to a tradition of English ballet with dances from the seventeenth century, including the saraband, pavane, and galliard. In this masterly score, Vaughan Williams captures the conflict between good and evil, between the spiritual and the material. Job shows a strength, beauty, nobility, and visionary power which unite the many different facets of Vaughan Williams’s musical style. The poignant and musically enigmatic Symphony No. 9 marks ‘the end of Ralph’s life and [is] a turning point. It is leading out into another place. It is extraordinary’, as the composer’s wife stated after one of the early performances.

TRACKLIST
01. Job: Scene 1: Introduction-Pastoral Dance-Satan's Appeal to God
02. Job: Scene 1: Sarabande of the Sons of God
03. Job: Scene 2: Satan's Dance of Triumph
04. Job: Scene 3: Minuet of the Sons of Job and Their Wives
05. Job: Scene 4: Job's Dream. Dance of Plague, Pestilence, Famine and Battle
06. Job: Scene 5: Dance of the Messengers
07. Job: Scene 6: Dance of Job's Comforters. Job's Curse. A Vision of Satan
08. Job: Scene 7: Elihu's Dance of Youth and Beauty
09. Job: Scene 7: Pavane of the Sons of the Morning
10. Job: Scene 8: Galliard of the Sons of Morning
11. Job: Scene 8: Altar Dance
12. Job: Scene 9: Epilogue
13. Symphony No. 9 in E Minor: I. Moderato maestoso
14. Symphony No. 9 in E Minor: II. Andante sostenuto
15. Symphony No. 9 in E Minor: III. Scherzo: Allegro pesante
16. Symphony No. 9 in E Minor: IV. Andante tranquillo