The Academy in Concert

The distinctively named Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields laid claim to being the most widely recorded orchestra in the world for many years. Its records were popular for good reason - under conductor Neville Marriner, they were almost guaranteed to be beautifully played and elegantly presented.

From the beginning, the Academy's repertoire was heavily tilted toward the baroque and classical eras. Its first record, from 1961, included music by Handel, Corelli, Locatelli and Torelli, for example.

This present LP dates from 1974, during the height of the orchestra's fame. It veers toward the most popular side of its repertoire, including the two pillars of the pop-baroque, the so-called Albinoni Adagio and the Pachelbel Canon. Also included are crowd pleasers from Handel, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

October 1974 Gramophone ad

In the UK, the LP was titled, "The Academy in Concert," and I have titled this post that way, even though the US pressing I transferred (cover at top) uses no such nomenclature, while presenting a laundry list of contents instead. Angel presumably wanted to highlight the Albinoni Adagio, which then could often be heard during classical programming.

The Adagio has a curious story. Albinoni scholar Remo Giazotto claimed to have found the music among the composer's manuscripts during the 1940s. He published his arrangement of the music, which became popular. But no documentation has ever surfaced that would definitely attribute the strain to the Italian baroque composer. It's likely that what is sometimes called the Albinoni-Giazotto Adagio is actually the Giazotto Adagio.

Iona Brown

The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields was founded in 1958 under the leadership of Marriner (1924-2016), then the principal second violin of the London Symphony Orchestra. The ASMF took its name from St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the 18th century James Gibbs church on Trafalgar Square. Iona Brown (1941-2004), who plays the violin solo in this recording of the Albinoni Adagio, also directed the group at one time. The orchestra has always been primarily a recording ensemble. It is now under the leadership of the distinguished violinist Joshua Bell, although its name has been shorn of its three hyphens.

The download includes scans, as always, along with the slightly different UK, Dutch and German covers, the vintage Gramophone ad above, and a review from that magazine by W.A. Chislett, who also wrote the LP's liner notes. Unsurprisingly, he liked the record.

The sound from Abbey Road Studio No. 1 is excellent. Several of the items on this record - notably the Beethoven Contradances - have not been reissued, to my knowledge.

I plan to present the Academy's first recording (mentioned above) in the near future, and possibly other items. While performance styles in baroque and classical music have moved on from the refined and subtle approach of this modern-instrument ensemble, to me the ASMF will always represent a high point in 20th-century recorded music.