An attractive-looking idea. In reality, alas, this new British Composers offering serves up, with one or two notable exceptions, a pretty thin musical brew. Both John Addison's Carte blanche and Richard Arnell's The Great Detective were commissioned by Sadler's Wells in 1953: well-made stuff, but hardly memorable. Neither is Alan Rawsthorne's 1955 ballet Madame Chrysantheme of the most inspired, though his engaging Street Corner Overture (the lively opener here) has always deservedly retained a modicum of popularity. Spirited playing from the Pro Arte Orchestra, but the recordings are merely tolerable, with any brass-led tuttis inclining towards an uncomfortable 'crunchiness'. Still, the overall effect is rather more comfortable than in the dim 1957 mono taping of Sir Malcolm Arnold's outrageous A Grand Grand Overture, the instrumentation for which assigns roles for three vacuum-cleaners and a floor-polisher! The composer obtains an enthusiastic rendering, though it's a pity the ambience is so ruthlessly clipped at the end.
In fact, it's left to Sir Arthur Bliss to preside over what is, from every point of view, easily the most rewarding item, conducting six numbers from his 1937 ballet Checkmate, with the ''Dance of the Red Pawns'' replacing the usual introductory ''Prologue'' in the overall scheme. The Sinfonia of London respond with admirable panache and Anthony Griffith's 1960 Kingsway Hall production still sounds amazingly vivid. By the way, isn't it about time somebody gave us a recording of Bliss's colourful score in its entirety?'