Joseph Holbrooke was one of the great hopes of British music in the early years of the century; but by the time of his death in 1958 his music was seldom performed. A recent CD of historical recordings (Symposium, 4/93) gave a hint of what we might have been missing; but this new collection provides a far better chance to judge the justice or otherwise of the composer's neglect.
Holbrooke gained much inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe, whose writings inspired three of the works here. Like Poe, Holbrooke enjoyed conflict and confrontation, and the prevailing tone of the music here is of dark brooding. Holbrooke was uniformly praised for the mastery of his orchestration and the boldness of his harmonies; but his penchant for huge forces and unusual orchestral instruments (including concertinas and sarrusophones) meant he was not always taken seriously (as anyone who has read Beecham's A Mingled Chime will know). It was with The Raven in 1900 that Holbrooke first made his mark, and one cannot but be impressed with what a young man of 21 did with the orchestra. Perhaps, though, it is the orchestral prelude to his cantata The Bells that most grabs the attention. From the Ravelian opening to the grand climax in which massed bells ring out it is impressive stuff. Can we expect a Holbrooke revival? I somehow doubt it; but Marco Polo earn the warmest gratitude for giving us the opportunity to judge for ourselves. Purchasers of their Bantock and Brian recordings will not want to miss out on this rewarding collection.'