The Sir Arnold Bax Website, Christopher Webber and Graham Parlett

…The Goulds obviously love playing [Bax’s 1946 Piano Trio], and… they’ve made me love it too.

…Much-recorded [the Sonata in D for Clarinet and Piano] may be, but Robert Plane and Benjamin Frith’s version can hold its head up in the best company. Frith in particular commands such nuanced sensitivity… There’s a natural, unforced ebb and flow to the first movement, a madcap energy to the second which makes for entire satisfaction.

If anything the deeply emotional Folk-Tale (1918) comes off even better, with Frith and the Gould’s cellist Alice Neary making an ideally symbiotic partnership. When it’s as dynamically, dramatically concentrated as here there’s a substance and range of moods in Folk-Tale which belie its brevity…. Neary and Frith’s imaginative depth make this the class of the field.

…Plane and Frith treat all this elegantly Brahmsian material [of the Romance for Clarinet and Piano] with undemonstrative expertise…

This release is right up there with the Maggini’s set of the String Quartets as one of the finest feathers in Naxos ’ Baxian cap.

“Such a well-conceived programme, allied to playing of consistent musicality and enthusiasm… deserves every accolade.”

Christopher Webber

“This new CD in the ongoing Bax series from Naxos contains some absolutely superb performances and should be snapped up without hesitation…”

…The performers play [the Clarinet Sonata[ with great energy and feeling throughout, and the frequent changes of tempo and mood in the first movement are very well integrated. The second movement, which almost seems to anticipate ‘The Chase’ in Bax’s Oliver Twist film score, goes like the wind, as it should.

There then follows a wonderfully atmospheric and moving performance of the Folk-Tale for cello and piano, which dates from 1918…. this new recording has the edge, I feel, on account of the superior sound quality and the depth of feeling that the performers bring to the work… Alice Neary and Benjamin Frith both have the measure of the piece and bring out its melancholic, brooding atmosphere to perfection.

“…the players attack [the Trio in B flat] vigorously and give it a good sense of forward momentum… It is obvious that the players believe wholeheartedly in the music, and this communicates itself in their marvellous performances.”

The yearning, romantic middle movement can easily get bogged down in sentiment if taken too slowly, but here the players have noted the direction con moto, which follows the tempo marking Adagio, and move it on to good effect. The finale, which is mostly in 5/8 time (rare in Bax’s music), has a splendid rhythmic vitality even while the players observe the Moderato marking.

“…Once again, this new performance [Trio in One Movement for violin, viola and piano] from Robert Plane and members of the Gould Trio is a revelation… The players attack the piece with the utmost vigour, managing to negotiate its many changes of tempo and mood with ease, and it is difficult to imagine a better performance.”

The high spirits of the coda (marked, very unusually for Bax, Prestissimo and later Prestissimo possibile) are irresistible and bring this very well-filled CD (nearly 77 minutes) to an exhilarating conclusion.

…This splendid new issue is a must for all Baxians, not only for the world premières but for the stunning performances of all the other pieces. Buy it without delay!

Graham Parlett