British Light Music Discoveries Vol 5
A little falling-off in invention, but there’s still plenty here to delight the collectors
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: John Fox, Geoffrey Toye, Gavin Sutherland, Thomas Pitfield, David Lyon, Peter Hope, Paul Lewis, Brian Douglas
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: White Line
Magazine Review Date: 13/2003
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 64
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDWHL2144

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Kaleidoscope |
Peter Hope, Composer
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Gavin Sutherland, Conductor Peter Hope, Composer |
(A) Pastoral Reflections |
John Fox, Composer
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Gavin Sutherland, Conductor John Fox, Composer |
Inauguration |
Paul Lewis, Composer
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Gavin Sutherland, Conductor Paul Lewis, Composer |
Adagio Serioso |
David Lyon, Composer
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra David Lyon, Composer Gavin Sutherland, Conductor |
Rondoletta |
David Lyon, Composer
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra David Lyon, Composer Gavin Sutherland, Conductor |
Music for Strings |
Brian Douglas, Composer
Brian Douglas, Composer City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Gavin Sutherland, Conductor |
(The) Haunted Ballroom |
Geoffrey Toye, Composer
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Gavin Sutherland, Conductor Geoffrey Toye, Composer |
Overture on North-Country Tunes |
Thomas Pitfield, Composer
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Gavin Sutherland, Conductor Thomas Pitfield, Composer |
Capriol Overture |
Gavin Sutherland, Composer
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra Gavin Sutherland, Conductor Gavin Sutherland, Composer |
Clainet Concerto |
City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Gavin Sutherland, Conductor Verity Butler, Clarinet |
Author: Andrew Lamb
In some ways the most unexpected item here may be Geoffrey Toye’s waltz from the ballet The Haunted Ballroom, since it’s a British light music classic that was hardly awaiting discovery. For the most part, as in previous issues in this series, the emphasis is on music by composers who are still living. The collection gets off to an excellent start with Peter Hope’s Kaleidoscope, which certainly lives up to its title with its ever-changing melodic shapes and brilliant instrumental shading and colouring – truly a miniature concerto for orchestra, as producer Philip Lane’s notes describe it.
Other items that particularly catch my ear are the two contrasted and splendidly crafted pieces by David Lyon – the first an evocation of symphonic adagios, the other a delightfully frisky piece with some inventive rhythmic twists – and the unashamedly ebullient Capriol Overture by the excellent conductor of so many of these recordings, Gavin Sutherland.
Of the older ‘discoveries’, there’s the curiosity of Barbirolli’s Handel clarinet compilation, in the style of the more familiar oboe concerto he put together for his wife. There’s also the overture by Thomas Pitfield, which employs northern folk songs such as ‘John Peel’, ‘The Keel Row’ and ‘The Lincolnshire Poacher’. I don’t think this quite takes wing, and the collection as a whole perhaps lacks the invention of some of its predecessors. However, there should be enough to appeal to those who have enjoyed the series so far.
Other items that particularly catch my ear are the two contrasted and splendidly crafted pieces by David Lyon – the first an evocation of symphonic adagios, the other a delightfully frisky piece with some inventive rhythmic twists – and the unashamedly ebullient Capriol Overture by the excellent conductor of so many of these recordings, Gavin Sutherland.
Of the older ‘discoveries’, there’s the curiosity of Barbirolli’s Handel clarinet compilation, in the style of the more familiar oboe concerto he put together for his wife. There’s also the overture by Thomas Pitfield, which employs northern folk songs such as ‘John Peel’, ‘The Keel Row’ and ‘The Lincolnshire Poacher’. I don’t think this quite takes wing, and the collection as a whole perhaps lacks the invention of some of its predecessors. However, there should be enough to appeal to those who have enjoyed the series so far.
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