Harris: Symphonies Nos 5 and 6 ("Gettysburg")

Roy Harris's Third Symphony is an American classic, partly due to its concision, so it is fascinating to encounter these two later wartime symphonies, both very much products of the nationalistic tradition that produced the Shostakovich Leningrad Symphony. The Fifth is dedicated to the Russians, the Sixth to the American armed forces – it was premiered by Koussevitzky. In the Sixth, connections with key words in Lincoln's Gettysburg address are made in all four movements: over-bombastic, perhaps, too politically simplistic, yet the music has considerable power and fervour, and Marin Alsop's effective advocacy ensures strong-boned orchestral playing from her Bournemouth forces.