Symphony Or Oratorio ?

The poetry of Walt Whitman has inspired many musical settings and one such here is Vaughan Williams's A Sea Symphony, otherwise his symphony number 1. This recording is by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Cantilena Ladies Choir of Colchester Institute of Music and soloists soprano Felicity Lott and baritone Jonathan Summers conducted by Bernard Haitink. The symphony is in four parts, using Whitman's words under the headings A Song For All Seas All Ships, On The Beach At Night Alone, The Waves and The Explorers. I have been enthusiastic in writing about Vaughan Williams and am not going to back down on that but I have to admit this is my least favourite of his symphonies. It is an early work and has some weaknesses that often come with such works but my main problem is that I don't have much sympathy with the Edwardian English oratorio as a genre and the influence of that style is much in evidence here. There are fairly standard swelling phrases from the orchestra to denote the rise and fall of the ocean but in the main it is relentlessly vocal. So for my part, I have this disk for completist reasons but if you are in tune with that kind of thing, the performers do it more than justice.