The first wonder of this very welcome transfer is the astonishing quality of the sound, mono only but full-bodied and finely detailed to give a keener sense of presence than the rather disappointing CD transfer of the 1976 stereo version, with a surprisingly wide dynamic range for a 1949 recording. When Boult recorded that final stereo version, he was already 87, and though as ever the reading is a noble one, beautifully paced, it has nothing like the same thrust and tension as this recording of nearly three decades earlier. In particular the heavenly Adagio has an extra meditative intensity in the way that Boult presents each of the great lyrical themes. The finale in particular has a bite and thrust far beyond that of the later account.
Boult's recording of In the South, made in 1955, brings out his thrustful side even more strikingly, with urgent speeds giving way in the lovely Cantopopolare section to a honeyed beauty before an urgent yet finely controlled account of the coda.
Sadly, the 1955 sound is shallower than that of six years earlier for the symphony, though there's ample weight for the brass theme of the second section.