Chadwick’s exuberantly Romantic orchestral works came out of obscurity with two CDs from Serebrier and the Czech State Philharmonic (Reference Recordings: 2/96, 6/97). Ironically this new CD has been supported by the Aaron Copland Fund – it was exactly the sort of American music Copland went to Paris to avoid. However, like Elgar, Chadwick learnt his trade from the masters of the Austro-German tradition, especially Wagner, and his command of it is always impressive and there are discernible American characteristics too.

The Naxos release brings together the overtures, composed between 1882 and 1903, which Chadwick based on three of the nine muses. It also includes the resplendent half-hour tone-poem Aphrodite and a late work, Angel of Death (1918) which was new to me and may be a first recording. Schermerhorn’s performance of Aphrodite can be compared with Serebrier’s, where the sound is clearer and more spacious. There are other versions of the three tone-poems too but not Angel of Death. This work also has classical connections since it is based on a bas-relief of a sculptor in a Greek tunic who dies whilst at work, with the angel hovering nearby.

As so often with Naxos, the decisive factor is price. The five works add up to a generous 80 minutes of Chadwick’s orchestral music. Unfortunately Steven Ledbetter’s excellent notes are a fraction of what he was able to provide for both of the Chadwick CDs on Reference (albeit in one language rather than three here) but the new release is a useful supplement to Serebrier’s fine performances.