From the beginning of the series in 2003, Mark Elder’s Elgar discs with the Halle have made a point of including rarely heard pieces alongside the acknowledged orchestral masterpieces. So the latest disc not only more or less rounds off their survey – unless Elder now plans to explore some of the pre-Enigma choral works – but also brings a recording of Polonia, the 13-minute symphonic prelude that Elgar composed in 1915 in recognition of the contribution of Polish forces to the allied effort in World War I. In his sleeve notes, the late Michael Kennedy mounts a strong defence of the piece, claiming it as much more than a patchwork of Polish melodies and quotes from Chopin, but I doubt that even he would have claimed it was top-drawer Elgar despite many passages that could not have been composed by anyone else. But for most people, though, the selling point of the discs is likely to be Alice Coote’s velvety smooth singing of Sea Pictures. Her performance is very restrained, trance-like almost in the first couple of songs – other mezzos find much more emotional depth in the cycle – but its coolness does make a nice contrast with Elder’s account of the five Pomp and Circumstance Marches, in which he and the orchestra keep their swagger just within decent limits.
