CD: Virtuoso

At first glance, in terms of repertoire this is, perhaps, the lightest CD that David Childs has recorded since his days as solo euphonium at Cory. Yet whilst his more recent attention has been on major works and concertos for the instrument by composers of the creative heft of Edward Gregson, Alun Hoddinott, and Philip Wilby, the emphasis captured on this recording is far more personal. 

As the soloist recently explained to me, every track holds meaningful significance for him as music encountered and played during his musical journey. The repertoire chosen traces David’s career back to his early years and the influence of his father, Robert, and uncle Nick. The track that, perhaps, speaks most eloquently of his father is a favourite of Robert – the delightful little miniature, Elfriede by George Swift, played here with sublime elegance and control, ending in a stratospheric apotheosis that David has the remarkable gift of portraying as innately musical, rather than simply a gimmick. 

Indeed, this is just one of many glorious features of the playing throughout ‘Virtuoso’, where pyrotechnical glissandi and effects seem to meld seamlessly into the musical backdrop, rather than being showcased for their own sake – a phenomenal feat to pull off in itself. 

In Pablo de Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, one can only marvel at the quite remarkable clarity of articulation achieved by the soloist, who enunciates every note with crystalline clarity. The same clarity is evident in Rossini’s famous Largo al factotum, although here, David demonstrates added awareness of the original’s vocal elements, which he shapes and hones to perfection, whilst the sheer exuberance, joie de vivre and staggering extremes of register, delivered with such disarming ease, in pieces such as Alan Catherall’s arrangement of Arban’s Le Carnaval de Venise and Hartmann’s Facilita, along with the soloist’s arrangement of Rimsky Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumble Bee to conclude, despatched with a lightness of touch and dexterity that almost defys belief, are an absolute joy to listen to. 

At the more mellow end of the musical spectrum, the touching simplicity of David’s phrasing in Evelyn Glennie’s A Little Prayer, arranged by Robert Childs for his 17th birthday, alongside such perennial favourites as an emotional, mellow rendition of Macushla and the glistening, light-flecked colours of Tamezo Narita’s Song of the Seashore, are wonderful examples of the compellingly natural way in which David lovingly shapes and nurtures every phrase and note with equal, telling sensitivity. 

Although the CD’s title, ‘Virtuoso’, is certainly apt, it is something of an understatement. Over and above his virtuosity, David’s completeness as a musician makes him what he is – a performer of innate musical instincts and an ambassador for his instrument like no euphonium player before him. 

There can surely be no greater accolade and achievement than the way in which David has changed the perception of the euphonium in mainstream, professional musical circles and amongst the wider musical public. And that, perhaps more than any other, is the momentous feat that David Childs has achieved and is so elegantly exemplified on this very special recording. 

CHRISTOPHER THOMAS