Classical Music

Thys Yool is a four-part programme of medieval music in which four images central to the Christmas story are brought together. Beginning with a sometimes melancholy picture of earth-bound humanity (Winter and Wassail), the record moves through nativity songs (A Child Is Born) towards the point at which Christian and pagan traditions come together in an adoration of the Virgin which is often expressed in the passionate language of the courtly lover. A sense of human perceptions being profoundly altered by the events of Christmas is evoked in Mary’s Son, Goodwill on Earth and a French 12th century conductus touches on the theme of Rebirth. Thys Yool has been a popular Christmas title in the Nimbus catalogue for many years. The Martin Best Ensemble, led by English singer, lutenist, and guitarist Martin Best, specializes in early music, minstrel songs, and French troubadour traditions.

Having been appointed Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music in 1883 and Professor of Music at Cambridge University in 1888, Stanford taught many of the leading British composers of the day. To name a few, these included Frank Bridge, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Arthur Bliss, and the other two composers represented on this disc, John Ireland and Rebecca Clarke. Since studying at Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music with John White, Martin Outram has enjoyed a wide ranging career as quartet player, soloist and teacher. Martin appears frequently as a soloist and his repertoire embraces the major works for viola. His programmes often include rarely heard pieces. Particularly by British composers and several works have been written for him, including concertos by Adam Gorb and david Gow. Martin Outram gives duo recitals with Julian Rolton and together they have performed widely throughout the UK. A highly versatile musician, Julian Rolton is equally at ease as a concerto soloist, chamber musician and accompanist. Julian performs and records with the violist Martin Outram and he is a member of the Chagall Trio.

This set is offered at a special price: 4 discs for the cost of 2.

An admirable introduction to British music.

Most of the tracks on this compilation have been reviewed by myself in the course of the last three months so I will confine my detailed observations to those on which my comments have not already been published on this site.
 
Delius’s Florida Suite was a very early work and was not performed until after the composer’s death when Beecham recorded it in a famous stereo release for EMI in 1960, the year before his death. Delius was an inveterate recycler of his earlier works – apart from the recension of Margot la rouge as the Idyll and the American Rhapsody as Appalachia, he inserted the prelude to Act Three of The magic fountain as the prelude to Act Three of Koanga; and some of the music in the Florida Suite found its way into both of these operas. The opening of the first movement was revamped to become the opening of The magic fountain, and the succeeding section found its way into the Second Act of Koanga before emerging as a separate concert piece in its own right under the title of La Calinda. Beecham’s reading is magical, and was very well recorded for its day; but the sound is now a bit too forward, and the nicely resonant sound of the Birmingham Hall here suits the music well. The work has been recorded by all the expected Delians – del Mar, Handley, Hickox, Mackerras and Lloyd-Jones – but has not made its way into the general repertory, as indeed it should deserve. For those who find Delius too enervated and luxuriously soporific - I am not one of them - the Florida Suite is like a breath of fresh air even if sometimes the symphonic development is a bit predictable. The very opening phrases, which Delius later used in The magic fountain to depict the Florida coastline, have an impressionistic warmth that was not to find its way into European music until Debussy’s ‘ground-breaking’ Prélude a l’après-midi d’une faune some seven years later. Elsewhere one thinks one sees the influence of Franck’s Psyché – but no, that was not performed until a year later. La Calinda, the best-known section of the score, is in fact also one of the least interesting. Conductors must be totally fed up with the constant complaint of critics that nobody can conduct Delius like Beecham, but even if happens to be true we stand in need of more modern recordings like this. The strings could be slightly further forward in the atmospheric opening; but in fact this complaint could be levelled against Hickox, Mackerras and Lloyd-Jones; I have not heard the recordings by Handley and Norman del Mar, but in his recording of the complete opera The magic fountain del Mar gets the balance just right. This is to be hyper-critical, and in the ensuing oboe solo Nimbus’s slightly more recessed sound yields dividends against the rather juicily forward recorded balance given to Beecham’s player. Little touches like the timpani strokes at 0.33 come across with just the right amount more definition than in the slightly woolly 1960 EMI sound - and better, too, than in the balance which Naxos provide for Lloyd-Jones, or Decca for Mackerras, or EMI for Hickox. Otherwise Boughton’s performance is very much in the Beecham mould, and there could be no better model – or recommendation.
 
John Ireland’s Minuet is an odd choice to represent this composer – if one item by Ireland was to be included, one would have expected it to be his ubiquitous The holy boy - but Boughton has not recorded that. Nevertheless it is most welcome. The Downland Suite was originally written for brass band, and in 1940 Ireland began to transcribe it for string orchestra. He only completed two movements before he was forced to leave his home in the Channel Islands in the face of the German invasion - the arrangement of the whole work was subsequently completed by Geoffrey Bush.
 
The two pieces from Walton’s film music for Henry V comprise the passacaglia he wrote to accompany the death of Falstaff and the little vignette Touch her soft lips and part which depicted Pistol’s departure for the wars. Although Walton arranged a complete suite of music from the film - there was also a suite arranged by Muir Matheson, and the complete music has more recently been arranged by Christopher Palmer in which form it has been recorded more than once - he also approved the performance of the two movements for strings alone as a separate item as they are given here.
 
The first disc in this set comprises the entire contents of an earlier Nimbus disc which I reviewed in considerable detail for MusicWeb. The performances of both items are very good and extremely realistically recorded, and although there are better performances of these pieces to be had elsewhere they can nevertheless be recommended.
 
The second disc combines items from two of Boughton’s Elgar collections and one from a collection of English string music. The Enigma Variations are well characterised and the booklet notes here on the individual personalities are indeed better and more detailed than those which came with the original release. As I have previously observed, the performance of the second Wand of Youth suite is also very well played; but the omission of the first suite here, and of one of the movements in the Parry English Suite are unfortunate.
 
The third disc continues to recycle music from the collection of English string music which I have already reviewed with Finzi’s beautiful Eclogue and Bridge’s idyllic There is a willow grows aslant a brook. Both are very well played although they could be more warmly handled – and there are again better performances elsewhere. This disc is completed with the Delius Florida Suite to which I have already referred.
 
The final disc is a real miscellaneous compendium, of which I have reviewed the Ireland and Walton items above. They are completed with a rather brisk account of the Wasps overture extracted from a Vaughan Williams survey, a nicely poised Lennox Berkeley Serenade from a miscellaneous collection and two items from a Britten collection which bring this set to an upbeat conclusion.
 
Unlike some other Nimbus boxes, we are given full details of the music here and this would be an admirable introduction to British music – including some far from obvious items – for someone who is beginning to explore the English Musical Renaissance. All the items here are from composers born in England, as indeed befits the title of the collection. None of the performances are negligible or disappointing; and some are very good indeed, among the best available. The recordings are well matched, realistic in balance and resonant in acoustic.
 
-- Paul Corfield Godfrey, MusicWeb International

Another MusicMasters retrieval emerges from Nimbus. In this case it’s Charles Rosen’s exploration of the Romantic lineage in a recital recorded back in 1993. He is as ever a natural guide, refusing to vest in the music a weight that unbalances the musical argument.

In Davidsbündlertänze he offers a strong set of alternatives to the more deeply etched, strongly pedalled and textually denser playing of Géza Anda, and also to have ideas definably different from those of his eminent predecessors in this repertoire, Cortot and Arrau, amongst others. His opening Lebhaft [No.1] shows the way forward. It’s frolicsome, lightly textured, less chordally powerful, less rubato-enriched. There’s something dapper about this approach. He may be less obviously ‘innig’ than some of his competitors, and pursue a more untroubled, lightly-hued journey but one senses that Rosen feels the music to be more youthful and innocently conceived than is often the case in more stentorian and melancholic traversals. The Nicht Schnell movement [No.7] for instance is pleasingly but not emotively played. Whilst it may sound more aloof than other more charged interpretations it is perfectly reflective of the general tenor of Rosen’s conception. Anda for instance is more obviously ‘pathetic’ in his rolling warmth. Rosen’s view means that the extremes that others cultivate are not present. There is considerably less ebullience in the ninth movement. His accents don’t stab as deeply; instead this is classically conceived playing, unexaggerated and maybe a touch cool for some. Finesse of articulation however is a motor of his playing. Even in Wild und lustig he reserves ferocity. There’s no sense of pounding, more a cultivation of musical verities, clarity of rhythm and articulation, deft dynamics to make his points. Some may find Wie aus der Ferne - weirdly contracted in the notes to Wieausder Ferne – rather cool. It’s certainly not as expressive or singing as Anda or Cortot but its straightforward and youthful, unproblematic stance is a welcome antidote to more stuck-in-the-mud recordings. This is a fine successor to the LP he made on Columbia, where it was coupled with Carnaval.

Rosen proves a virtuosic guide when it comes to the fulcrum of Liszt’s digital demands in Reminiscences of Don Juan. His playing is buoyant and colourful, though it doesn’t aspire to the kind of potent appraisal proposed by Rosen’s American colleague, Earl Wild, whose dynamics register with huge verticality and whose sweep is that much more obviously arresting. This lower wattage reading has its own integrity but Wild’s visceral responses are scintillating [Brilliant 93786, a big Liszt box]. The two Chopin Nocturnes are delightfully and unfussily played. His sound is soft and pliant and there is palpable affection in his phrasing – a fitting judgement on his playing throughout.

- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

To say that the great Debussy pianist Walter Gieseking is little known as a composer is an understatement - his entry in the New Grove does not even mention his works. In that regard, Karen Haid's comment in her ample, informative notes, that "each piece [...is] greatly cherished by performers and audiences upon discovery" is wide of the mark. She also describes the works in her unique recital as "musical treasure[s]", which most listeners will probably find an exaggeration, although they are certainly very easy on the ear, and not without many radiant passages.
 
Gieseking's music is stylistically impressionistic and pastoral - hardly surprising, given that his musical heroes were Debussy and Ravel and the fact that he inherited his father's love of the natural world. Often the influence of jazz shows through too, in the piano and flute writing alike, in all probability filtered again through Debussy and Ravel. The Three Dance Improvisations are more like something Gershwin or Grainger might have extemporised for party guests.
 
Gieseking can be forgiven for not showing any special insight into flute composition - he is self-taught, for one thing - but his piano writing too is surprisingly conventional, though never without interest. There is much here to tap fingers to and perhaps hum along with, not least the Spiel um ein Kinderlied ('Play on a Children's Song'), the song in question being Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. The Flute Sonatina is probably the pick of the bunch: melodious, elegant, harmonically unconventional, reminiscent now of Poulenc.
 
For a soloist, Haid's programme is out of the ordinary, to say the least: two works for solo piano, one for four hands, and two more for flute and piano - with all parts played by Haid! The recording is obviously a digital contrivance of sorts: 'mixing' is not a term that endears a CD of art music to prospective buyers, but aside from that, it is difficult not to admire Haid's genial performances. She trained first as a pianist, but her CV in both instrumental areas is impressive, even if this is her first, and to date last, commercial recording. Previously US-based, Haid is now apparently working as a teacher of ESL and Italian in Italy, as well as reviewing concerts there and occasionally performing with flute or piano.
 
Musically speaking, this disc, originally released in 2001 and again in 2006, is more attractive than compelling, but as a curiosity in more ways than one - Haid's multiple performances and the fact that this is the only CD of Gieseking as a composer - it is worth anyone's consideration.
 
Sound quality is very good, although many will find the flute too far forward relative to the piano, and therefore tending at times towards stridency of tone. On its own the piano too is closely miked, giving a cosy fireside effect.
 
-- Byzantion, MusicWeb International

For everyone who has ever read a Jane Austen novel or seen a Jane Austen movie, this disc is a must. It captures the atmosphere of Austen's world with classical works from the period she lived in. Tracks include selections from Mendelssohn, Hayden, Fasch, Bach, Boyce, Mehul and Schubert.

Classical Music

Includes work(s) by various composers. Soloists: Ezio Pinza, Richard Tauber, Lawrence Tibbett, Amelita Galli-Curci.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Ian Lace, in his excellent review of this Nimbus release, considers who will buy this set of CDs. He wonders if ‘this superbly crafted music, so full of vitality and romance (will) appeal to audiences below the age of say, sixty.’ Well, I have not yet reached that magical age, but I have loved Eric Coates as long as I can recall. I first consciously heard his music at a concert at the end of the pier in Llandudno with John Moravia conducting. I think it was the ‘Merrymaker’s Overture’. Through all the vicissitudes of Boulez, minimalism, Stockhausen and aleatory music, I have remained a fan of Eric Coates.
 
At school, I was often ‘teased’ by more learned and intellectual friends for liking such ‘persiflage’ as the London Suite and the Three Elizabeth Suite. This ‘superiority’ from some ‘music-lovers’ has continued down through the years. Much as I care. This 50-something-year-old would swap reams of Mahler, Verdi, Bruckner and Wagner (especially Wagner) to possess the complete orchestral works of Eric Coates on my Desert Island. I guess that somewhere in the recesses of the classical public’s collective psyche there is a steady interest in so-called ‘light music’. For example, I am convinced that the Guild Light Music series which now exceeds a hundred CDs - is not selling only to OAPs.
 
This present collection of seven CDs covers the entire corpus of Eric Coates’ music recorded by the composer -from 1923 until the late nineteen-fifties. I have not done a detailed cross-check between the track-listings and Coates’ catalogue but I guess that all the well-known suites and marches are presented along with a wide variety of more obscure, but equally enjoyable pieces. Naturally, there is considerable duplication within these seven CDs - for example there are three full versions of the fine London Again Suite, a similar tally for ‘By the Sleepy Lagoon’ and five of the ‘Knightsbridge March’. Many works have only a single performance here - for example, ‘High Flight’, the ‘Holborn March’ and the delicious ‘Footlights-Concert Valse’.
 
Some of the highlights are the lesser-known works. How often does the delicious tone-poem ‘Summer Afternoon’ feature on CDs or radio broadcasts? This is a work that crosses over into something that Delius might have written. Two ‘Fanfares’ dating from 1943 are heard on the second disc. I have not encountered these extremely short numbers before. The ‘Moresque’ dance is included twice here - once in an early Coates performance and the other conducted by Charles Williams. The Cinderella-Phantasy is an attractive work that seems to have slipped down the crack in today’s concert scheduling. It is an ideal ‘prom’ work if there was ever one. There are a handful of Coates’ songs set for orchestra, including ‘Bird Songs at Eventide’, ‘I heard you singing’ and the Symphonic Rhapsody on ‘With a Song in my Heart’.
Finally, it is good to have all the marches composed for the nascent commercial television companies in one place. These include the ‘Television March’, the ‘Music Everywhere- Rediffusion March’, the ‘Sound and Vision - the A.T.V. Television March’ and the ‘South Wales and West - Television March’ (originally the Seven Seas March).
 
There are a few works missing, for example the early ‘Ballade’, the ‘Rhodesia March’ and the unpublished ‘Coquette’. Virtually everything else is present and correct in one form or another. In total there are some 8 hours 50 minutes of listening.
 
Included in the final ‘bonus’ disc are a series of rare recordings of Coates’ music played by a variety of dance bands. It is treasure trove, indeed. There is a very early version of ‘From the Countryside’ by the Peerless Orchestra made around 1918; this in a surprisingly good transfer. Other ‘outfits’ presented here include Jack Hylton and his Orchestra’s splendid rendition of ‘Rose of Samarkand’, Charles Williams conducting the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra and the Cedric Sharpe Sextet with a ‘Palm Court’ rendition of ‘Lazy Night’. Sidney Torch and his orchestra play the relatively rarely heard ‘Holborn March’, whilst the RAF Central Orchestra performs the equally rare ‘Over to You’ - March written in 1941 and recorded the following year. The final work in this collection is the ubiquitous ‘The Dam Busters March’ from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force. It is a fine conclusion to an outstanding collection of music.
 
Every commercial recording that Eric Coates made is given here. However it appears that two are ‘missing’. Alan Bunting has suggested that ‘Covent Garden’ and ‘Westminster’ from the London Suite which were recorded in 1933 are not present in their original form. This is because they were later re-issued with another catalogue number. Bunting has compared the wave analysis of both recordings and has declared them to be identical, in spite of the records being released fourteen years apart.
 
All these tracks have been re-mastered to an extremely high standard. The ‘acoustic’ numbers (issued in 1923) have been placed at the end of disc six: these are worthy of our attention, in spite of the early technology. It amazes me just how much detail is present. The ‘electrically’ recorded tracks are superb in their presentation: often I found it hard to believe I was listening to something ‘laid down’ more than sixty or seventy years ago.
 
Alan Bunting has written that he considered ordering the tracks in strict chronological order, however he decided to present the material in a way that is varied and enjoyable. It was a wise decision, as each disc can be approached as a ‘concert’ in its own right. It would have meant that the opening discs of the boxed set would have had the least technically impressive tracks. Furthermore, repetition of pieces on the same CD, even on adjacent tracks, would have been inevitable.
 
I listened to these seven discs on my music-room ‘hi-fi’ system which is far removed from the gramophones of the pre and post war years. I did want to upload them to my iPod for future listening. Alas, the track names are not yet recognized by the ‘Gracenotes’ media database. As there are 130+ tracks, it would take a long time to fill in manually. I hope that Nimbus will submit the track details PDQ as this will be essential listening for me during my travels.
 
Anyone interested in Eric Coates will own the precious few books by or about him. The primary text is the composer’s own Suite in Four Movements, most recently republished by Thames in 1986. In the same year Geoffrey Self’s book In Town Tonight - a Centenary Study of Eric Coates was published. This book is now hard to find. The most recent addition to this short list is the important study by Michael Payne - The Life and Music of Eric Coates which was published by Ashgate Press in 2012. It was based on his University of Durham thesis (2007) ‘The Man Who Writes the Tunes’. Payne has contributed to the present Nimbus set a major essay which is included in the liner-notes. It runs to some 27 pages and is essential reading for all enthusiasts of Eric Coates’ music. The main thrust of this is the composer’s work in the recording studio but he adds a wealth of subsidiary information and anecdotes.
 
Another insert provides a detailed track-listing. This includes the date of recording, the record and matrix number, the performers (which are not always the same as noted on the original record label) and the place or recording when known. Additional information includes the date of composition and the duration. For anyone with a subscription to The Gramophone journal archive, it is possible to track the critical reviews of many of these records as and when they were released.
 
This is an essential purchase for all enthusiasts of Eric Coates in particular and British Light Music in general. It offers virtually a complete compendium of his orchestral music. The ‘recommended retail price’ is £29.99 (£21 if ordered from MWI) which makes it about £4.00 a disc. This makes for unbelievably good value for money. There is nothing about this release that I can fault. It is one of the recording highlights of my classical music-listening life. What I would have given for this back in the early ’seventies when I first discovered Coates’ music.
 
-- John France, MusicWeb International

Track-Listing - Overview 
CD 1 - 1931-1937 [78.08] 
1. The Merrymakers - Overture 4:21 2. From Meadow to Mayfair - Suite 11.35 3. Summer Afternoon - Idyll 3:28 4. Cinderella - Phantasy 12:46 5. By The Sleepy Lagoon - Valse Serenade 4:36 6. The Jester At The Wedding : No.1 The Princess Arrives - March 3:00 7. By The Tamarisk - Intermezzo 4:13 8. Saxo-Rhapsody 8:46 9. Summer Days - Suite 8.07 10. Springtime - Suite 12.20 11. For Your Delight - Serenade 4:00 
  
CD 2 - 1940-1948 [77.57] 
1. Footlights - Concert Valse 4:17 2 . Last Love - Romance 3:54 3 . The Seven Seas - March 3:14 4. I Sing To You (A Souvenir) 3:17 5. Calling All Workers - March 2:59 6. Fanfare Number 1 0:18 7. Salute the Soldier - March 3:22 8. Fanfare Number 2 0:26 9. The Eighth Army March 2:37 10. The Four Centuries - Suite 17.24 11. The Three Elizabeths - Suite 18.06 12. Dancing Nights - Concert Valse 6:48 13. London Calling - March 2:55 14. London Bridge - March 4:05 15. London Suite - Knightsbridge March 2:56 
  
CD 3 - 1948-1955 [78.33] 
1. A Song Of Loyalty 3:19 2. By The Sleepy Lagoon - Valse Serenade 3:15 3. Bird Songs At Eventide 3:08 4 . Television March 3:19 5. Wood Nymphs - Valsette 3:09 6. London - Suite 13.27 7. London Again - Suite 12.51 8. The Three Men - Suite 13.28 9. The Jester At The Wedding : No.4 - Dance Of The Orange Blossoms 3:45 10. Music Everywhere - Rediffusion March 2:57 11. The Dam Busters - March 2:56 12. Sound And Vision The A.T.V. Television March 3:00 
  
CD 4 - 1952-1957 [78.29] 
1. High Flight - March 2:49 2. Impression of a Princess - Intermezzo 2:58 3. Wood Nymphs - Valsette 2:46 4. South Wales and West - Television March 2:47 5. London - Suite 13.18 6. London Again - Suite 12.00 7. The Three Elizabeths - Suite 19.09 8. The Four Centuries - Suite 20.25 
  
CD 5 - Early records [72.05] 
1. Summer Days - Suite 0.00 2. Wood Nymphs - Valsette 3:01 3. With A Song In My Heart. Symphonic Rhapsody after Richard Rodgers 7:47 4. Bird Songs at Eventide 4:01 5. I Pitch My Lonely Caravan At Night 4:11 6. I Heard You Singing & Bird Songs At Eventide - Symphonic Rhapsody 4:03 7. London - Suite 8.08 8. London Bridge - March 3:07 9. The Jester At The Wedding : No.1 - The Princess Arrives - March 3:21 10. The Jester At The Wedding : No.4 The Dance Of The Orange Blossoms 3.03 11. The Three Men - Suite 12.12 12. Wood Nymphs - Valsette 3:18 13. Song Of Loyalty (The Prayer Within Our Hearts) 4:16 
  
CD 6 - Early and Acoustic records [70.25] 
1. Meadow To Mayfair Suite : No.2 4:03 2. London Again - Suite 11.28 3. By The Sleepy Lagoon - Valse Serenade 3:20 4. The Three Bears - A Phantasy 8:52 5. London Suite - Knightsbridge March 4:01 6. Television March 3:20 7. Valse From The Phantasy “The Three Bears” 3:07 8. The Merrymakers - Overture 4:06 9. Moresque Dance - Interlude 3:37 10. Joyous Youth - Suite 11.33 11. Summer Days Suite : At The Dance 3:59 12. The Selfish Giant - A Phantasy (arr. Lucas) 8:06 
  
Bonus CD 7 - 1918-1955 [74.33] 
Performances of works which Coates did not record himself alongside alternative and famous performances by other conductors. Including The Peerless Orchestra, Clarence Raybould, Charles Williams, Jack Hylton, Joseph Lewis, RAF Central Orchestra, Sidney Torch, Robert Farnon, and the Central Band of the Royal Air Force.   

Track-Listing - Detail   
CD 1 - 78.08 (1923-1937) 
1)  The Merrymakers Overture (1923) [4.21] rec. 1931+ 
From Meadow to Mayfair Suite (1931) [11.35] rec. 1931+ :- 
2)  In the Country - Rustic Dance [3.12] 
3)  A Song By the Way - Romance [4.03] 
4 ) Evening in Town - Valse [4.20] 
5 ) Summer Afternoon - Idyll (1931) [3.28] rec. 1934 * 
6 ) Cinderella - Phantasy (1929) [12.46] ** 
7)  By the Sleepy Lagoon - Valse Serenade extended version (1930) [4.36] rec. 1935 ** 
8)  The Jester at the Wedding (‘The Princess Arrives’) - March (1932) [3.00] rec. 1934 * 
9)  By the Tamarisk - Intermezzo (1927) [4.13] rec. 1936 ** 
10)  Saxo-Rhapsody (1936) [8.46] with Sigurd Rascher (alto saxophone) rec. 1937 *** 
Summer Days Suite (1937) [8.17] rec. 1937 *** 
11)  In a Country Lane [2.06] 
12)  On the Edge of a Lake [2.19] 
13)  At the Dance [3.42] 
Springtime Suite (1937) [12.20] rec 1937 # 
14)  Fresh Morning - Pastorale [4.01] 
15)  Noonday Song - Romance [4.17]  
16)  Dance in the Twilight - Valse [4.02] 
17)  For Your Delight - Serenade (1937) [4.00] rec. 1937 # 
+ London Symphony Orchestra 
* Symphony Orchestra (unidentified) ** Symphony Orchestra (actually London Philharmonic Orchestra) *** Symphony Orchestra (actually London Symphony Orchestra) 
+ London Symphony Orchestra; # Light Symphony Orchestra   
CD 2 -77.57 
1 ) Footlights - Concert Waltz (1939) [4.17] rec. 1940 # 
2)  Last Love - Romance (1939) [3.54] rec. 1940 # 
3)  The Seven Seas March (later retitled ‘South Wales & West) (1937) [3.14] rec. 1940 # 
4)  I Sing to You (A Souvenir) (1940) [3.17] rec. 1940 # 
5)  Calling All Workers March (1940) [2.59] rec. 1940 * 
6)  Fanfare No. 1 (1943) [0.18] rec. 1944 + 
7)  Salute the Soldier - March (1944) [3.22] rec. 1944 + 
8)  Fanfare No. 2 (1943) [0.26] rec. 1944 + 
9)  The Eighth Army March (1942) [2.37] rec. 1944 + 
The Four Centuries Suite (1941) [18.04] rec. 1944 ? 
10)  Prelude & Hornpipe - 17 ^th Century [4.21] 
11)  Pavane & Tambourin - 18 ^th Century [4.46] 
12)  Valse - 19 ^th Century [4.41] 
13)  Rhythm - 20 ^th Century [4.16] 
The Three Elizabeths Suite (1944) [17.49] rec.1944 ? 
14)  Halcyon Days - Elizabeth Tudor [6.35] 
15)  Springtime in Angus -Elizabeth of Glamis, The Queen Mother [6.37] 
16)  Youth of Britain (March) - The Princess Elizabeth [4.34] 
17)  Dancing Nights - Concert Valse (1931) [6.48] rec. 1945 + 
18)  London Calling -March (1941) [2.55] rec. 1946 + 
19)  London Bridge - March (1934) [4.05] rec. 1946 + 
20)  London Suite - Knightsbridge March (Abridged Version) (1932) [2.56] rec. 1948 
+ London Symphony Orchestra; # Light Symphony Orchestra * Symphony Orchestra (unidentified) ? The National Symphony Orchestra   
CD 3 - 78.33 
1)  A Song of Loyalty (Orchestral Version) (1935) [3.19] rec. 1948 
2)  By the Sleepy Lagoon - Valse Serenade (1930) [3.15] rec. 1948 
3)  Bird Songs at Eventide (arranged by H. M. Higgs) [3.08] rec. 1948 
4)  Television March (1946) [3.19] rec. 1948 
5)  Wood Nymphs - Valsette (1917) [3.09] rec. 1948 
London Suite (1932) [13.27] 
6)  Covent Garden - Tarantelle [4.43] 
7)  Westminster - Meditation [4.29] 
8)  Knightsbridge - March [4.15] 
London Again Suite (1936) [12.51] 
9)  Oxford Street (March) [3.31] 
10)  Langham Place - Elegy [5.04] 
11)  Mayfair - Valse [4.16] 
The Three Men Suite (1935) [13.08] rec. 1949 
12)  The Man From the Country [4.09] 
13)  The Man About Town [4.37] 
14)  The Man From the Sea [4.22] 
15)  The Jester at the Wedding  No. 4 Dance of the Orange Blossoms (1932) [3.45] rec. 1949 
16)  The Three Bears - A Phantasy (1926) [9.14] rec. 1949 
17)  Music Everywhere - Redifussion March (1948) [2.57] rec. 1949 
18)  The Dam Busters March (1954) [2.56] rec. 1955 
19)  Sound And Vision - The A.T.V. Television March (1955) [3.00] rec. 1955 
All recordings on CD3 made with The New Symphony Orchestra except  Music Everywhere with Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra; and  The Dam Busters and the  Sound and Vision March with a Concert Orchestra 
  
CD 4 - 78.29 
1)  High Flight  - March (1957) [2.49] rec. 1957 * 
2)  Impression of a Princess - Intermezzo (1956) [2.58] rec. 1957 * 
3)  Wood Nymphs - Valsette (1917) [2.46] rec. 1957 * 
4)  South Wales & West - Television March (1937 [2.47] rec,. 1957 * 
London Suite (1932) [13.18] rec. 1952 ? 
5)  Covent Garden - Tarantelle [4.41] 
6)  Westminster - Meditation [4.25] 
7)  Knightsbridge - March [4.12] 
London Again Suite (1936) [12.40] rec. 1952 ? 
8)  Oxford Street - March [3.29] 
9)  Langham Place - Elegy [4.59] 
10)  Mayfair - Valse [4.12] 
The Three Elizabeths Suite (1944) [18.49] rec. 1953 + 
11) Halcyon Days - Elizabeth Tudor [7.23] 
12) Springtime in Angus - Elizabeth of Glamis [7.05] 
13) Youth of Britain - March - The Princess Elizabeth [4.41] 
The Four Centuries - Suite (1941) [21.05] rec. 1953 + 
14)  Prelude & Hornpipe - 17 ^th Century [6.19] 
15)  Pavane & Tambourin - 18 ^th Century [5.53] 
16)  Valse - 19 ^th Century [4.38] 
17)  Rhythm - 20 ^th Century [4.15] 
* Eric Coates and His Orchestra ? Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra (actually a section of the London Philharmonic) + New Symphony Orchestra of London   
CD 5 [72.05] 
Summer Days  - Suite (1919) [9.53] rec. 1926 + 
1)  In A Country Lane [2.43] 
2)  On the Edge of the Lake (Isle of the Waters) [3.26] 
3)  At the Dance [3.44] 
4)  Wood Nymphs [3.01] + 
5)  With A Song In My Heart (Symphonic Rhapsody after Richard Rogers) (1930) [7.47] rec. 1930. ? 
6)  Bird Songs at Eventide (1926) with vocalist Billy Scott-Coomber and Jack Payne and his Band [4.01] rec. 1932 
7)  I Pitch My Lonely Caravan at Night - Symphonic Rhapsody (1932) [4.11] rec.1933 * 
8)  I Heard You Singing & Bird Songs At Eventide - Symphonic Rhapsody (1932) [4.03] rec. 1933 * 
London Suite (1932) [13.18] rec. 1933 * 
9)  Covent Garden - Tarantelle [4.41] 
10)  Westminster - Meditation [4.25] 
11)  Knightsbridge - March [4.12] 
12)  London Bridge - March (1934) [3.07] ** 
13)  The Jester at the Wedding:  No. 1 The Princess Arrives (1932) [3.21] rec. 1935 * 
14)  The Jester at the Wedding:  No. 4 The Dance of the Orange Blossoms - Valse (1932) [3.03] rec. 1934] ** 
The Three Men - Suite (1935) [12.52] rec. 1935 ? 
15)  The Man From the Country [3.55] 
16)  The Man About Town [4.20] 
17)  The Man From the Sea [4.37] 
18)  Wood Nymphs - Valsette (1917) [3.18] rec. 1935 ? 
19 ) Song of Loyalty (The Prayer Within Our Hearts) (1935) [4.16] rec. 1935 
* Symphony Orchestra (actually London Philharmonic Orchestra); ** Symphony Orchestra # New Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra; + New Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra; ? The Court Symphony Orchestra; ? Light Symphony Orchestra (actually London Philharmonic Orchestra 
  
CD 6 70.25 
1 ) Meadow to Mayfair Suite: No. 2 - ‘A Song By the Way’ (1931) [4.03] rec. 1935 * 
London Again Suite (1936) [12.40] rec. 1936 ** 
2)  Oxford Street - March [3.12] 
3)  Langham Place - Elegy [4.20] 
4)  Mayfair - Valse [3.56] 
5)  By the Sleepy Lagoon - Valse Serenade (1930) [3.20] rec. rec. 1940 * 
6)  The Three Bears - A Phantasy (1926) [8.52] rec. 1945 + 
7)  London Suite - ‘Knightsbridge March’ (1932) [4.01] rec. 1946 + 
8)  Televison March (1946) [3.20] + 
9) ‘Valse’ from The Phantasy  The Three Bears (1949) [3.07] rec. 1949 ? 
10)  The Merrymakers - Overture (1923) [4.06] rec. 1923 (acoustic recording) ? 
11)  Moresque - Interlude (1921) [3.37] rec. 1923 (acoustic recording) ? 
Joyous Youth - Suite (1921) [11.33] rec. 1923 (acoustic recordings) # 
12)  Introduction [4.04] 
13)  Serenade [3.59] 
14)  Valse [3.30] 
15)  Summer Days Suite:  At the Dance (1919) [3.59] rec. 1926 # 
16)  The Selfish Giant - A Phantasy (arr. Leighton Lucas) (1925) [8.06] rec. 1926 
* Symphony Orchestra; ** Symphony Orchestra (actually London Philharmonic); + London Symphony Orchestra; ? New Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra; # The Aeolian Orchestra   
BONUS CD 7 [74.33] 
From The Countryside - Suite (1914) [6.59] rec. circa 1918 
The Peerless Orchestra 
1)  Early Morning - In the Meadows [1.36] 
2)  Afternoon - Among the Poppies [2.05] 
3)  Evening - At the Fair [3.18] 
Miniature Suite (1911) [8.42] rec. 1931 
Clarence Raybould conducting Light Symphony Orchestra 
4)  Children’s Dance [2.16] 
5)  Intermezzo [2.15] 
6)  Scene du Bal [4.11] 
Joyous Youth - Suite (1921) [8.19] rec. 1942 
Charles Williams conducting the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra 
12)  Introduction [2.34] 
13)  Serenade [2.49] 
14)  Valse [2.56] 
10)  Moresque - Dance Interlude (1921) [2.45] rec. 1944 
Charles Williams conducting the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra 
Two Light Syncopated Pieces (1924-25) [5.17] 
11)  Moon Magic [2.13] 
Charles Williams conducting the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra rec. 1946 
12)  Rose Of Samarkand [3.04] 
Jack Hylton and His Orchestra rec. 1926 
13)  The Selfish Giant - A Phantasy (1925) [8.08] rec.1945 
The New Concert Orchestra conducted by John Leon 
Four Ways Suite (1927) [12.17] rec. 1934 
Joseph Lewis conducting the New Light Symphony Orchestra 
14)  Northwards - March [4.12] 
15)  Southwards - Valse (1.17] 
16)  Eastwards - Eastern Dance [2.47] 
17)  Westwards - Rhythm [4.01] 
18)  Mirage - Romance (1928) [2.43] rec. 1942 
Charles Williams conducting the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra 
19)  Under the Stars (1928) [3.07] rec. 1946 
Charles Williams conducting the Queen’s Hall Light Orchestra 
20)  Lazy Night - Valse Romantique (1931) [2.47] rec. 1932 
Cedric Sharpe Sextet 
21)  Over to You - March (1941) [3.09] rec. 1942 
RAF Central Orchestra conducted by Wing Commander O. P. O’Donnell MVO 
22)  Holborn - March (1950) [3.20] rec. 1950 
Sidney Torch and his Orchestra
23)  Sweet Seventeen - Concert Waltz (1954) [2.44] rec. 1955 
The Melodi Light Orchestra conducted by Ole Jensen 
24)  The Dam Busters March (1954) [3.00] rec. 1955 
Central Band of The Royal Air Force conducted by Wing Commander A.E. Sims OBE 

---

Classical Music