V. Williams Symphony No. 8 & Partita For Double String Orchestra - Boult

Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No. 8 and Partita for Double String Orchestra reveal his gift for orchestral colour, lyrical expression and rhythmic invention. Compact yet rich in character, the Eighth moves from the freely unfolding Fantasia through a spirited wind-only scherzo and a warmly expressive Cavatina for strings to a brilliant, percussion-rich finale. Each movement presents a distinctive sound world, balancing reflective beauty with energy and understated humour. The Partita explores a complementary musical landscape, drawing contrast and depth from the interplay of two string orchestras. Its four movements range from the gentle lyricism of the Prelude to the driving rhythms of the Scherzo ostinato, the lighter charm of the Intermezzo and the vigorous closing Fantasia. Sir Adrian Boult’s close association with Vaughan Williams makes him a particularly compelling interpreter of this repertoire. With the London Philharmonic Orchestra, this pairing brings together two works that reveal the composer’s imaginative use of instrumental texture and his unmistakably individual musical voice. Artist(s): Conductor – Sir Adrian Boult Orchestra – The London Philharmonic Orchestra Recording Info: Producer: Christopher Whelan Engineer: Kenneth Wilkinson Recorded 7-8 Sep 1956 at Kingsway Hall, London Sourced from an Original London Blueback Pressing Components used for Transfer: This transfer leverages precision analogue playback and mastering-grade digital conversion. The signal path begins with a VPI HW-40 Anniversary turntable paired with an Ortofon MC Anna cartridge, fed through a Merrill Audio Jens Phono pre-amp for accurate RIAA equalisation. The analogue signal converts via a Merging Anubis converter, powered by a Teddy Pardo Linear Power Supply, synchronised to an Antelope Audio 10MX atomic clock for temporal accuracy. All components receive isolated power conditioning through a Shunyata Research Everest X with Sigma-X cords, while grounding infrastructure utilises Shunyata ALTAIRA hubs to minimise noise floor and preserve sonic detail throughout the transfer chain. Symphony No. 8 In D Minor Violin [Solo] – Harold Parfitt 1 Fantasia: Variazioni Senza Tema 11:00 2 Scherzo Alla Marcia: Per Stromenti A Fiato 3:52 3 Cavatina: Per Stromenti Ad Arco 8:02 4 Toccata 4:56 Partita For Double String Orchestra 5 Prelude: Andante Tranquillo 6:28 6 Scherzo Ostinato: Presto 4:21 7 Intermezzo (Homage To Henry Hall) 4:21 8 Fantasia: Allegro 6:09 Please Note: This release was edited in DXD PCM from a DSD256 Master then the DXD edited master was used to generate the final DSD files using Merging Technologies Album Publishing. DXD (352.8KHz 24/32 bit PCM) is one of the best and least destructive formats for post-processing DSD originated digital recordings Copyright © & ℗ High Definition Tape Transfers 2026, including all compilation, transfer, remastering, and restoration aspects Play Sample Tracks