British Light Music Discoveries 4

Sutherland (Artist), Royal Ballet Sinfonia (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 24, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: White Line
• ASIN: B00005K3P5
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #510,599 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Partita: Vivace

2. Partita: Aria (Lento)

3. Partita: Finale

4. Ste Francaise: A L'ombre D'un Buissonet

5. Ste Francaise: Triste Est Le Ciel

6. Ste Francaise: Allons Gay

7. March: The Padstow Lifeboat

8. Fant On Dover Castle

9. Battersea Park Ste: 'Walk Up, Walk Up'

10. Battersea Park Ste: Boat On The Lake - Ian Scott

11. Battersea Park Ste: The Little Merry-go-round

12. Battersea Park Ste: Distorting Mirrors

13. Battersea Park Ste: Child Asleep

14. Battersea Park Ste: Miniature Railway

15. Dance Diversions: Allegro Commodo

16. Dance Diversions: Andante Con Moto

17. Dance Diversions: Andante Con Moto, Molto Vigoroso

18. Dance Diversions: Andante Sostenuto

19. Dance Diversions: Allegro Molto

20. A Miniature Sym: Allegro Moderato

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

From International Record Review - subscribe now

Xylophones ahoy! John Rutter's Partita of 1976, which begins this fourth collection from ASV of home-grown Light Music Discoveries, is not a piece you might necessarily have expected from the renowned composer of some of the classics of contemporary sacred choral music. Manifesting every intention to entertain rather than challenge, it does exactly that, making a rumbustious opener to this anthology. All manner of percussion enjoy a jolly day out, strings glissando deliciously, and only the grandiose finale of this 20-minute work, pulling out every trick in the book, threatens slightly to overstay its welcome. Almost equally grandiose is the climax of David (African Sanctus) Fanshawe's Fantasy on Dover Castle, inspired by a returning glimpse of the familiar White Cliffs – which makes one gently wonder quite what a Moorish-sounding harp cadenza is also doing in the piece! At the other extreme, Paul Lewis's relatively restrained Miniature Symphony, each movement lasting a minute, is a reminder that the well-crafted miniature is also a frequent feature of light music. Tunefulness is another: Lewis's four movements have it a-plenty, as do Philip Lane's orchestral version of a familiar Arnold march and Sir Richard Rodney Bennett's elaborations of French folk tunes. I must confess that the name William Blezard was new to me, though it appears on one of the previous releases in this series. The composer, 80 this year, is evidently a dab hand at both brevity and wit, judging by the five short pieces that make up what he calls a 'children's suite' – often quite bucolic sounding in places, for all its title. Finally, there is Michael Hurd's Dance Diversions of 1972, for me the best piece here: traditional, even conservative it may be, but beautifully crafted and teeming with graceful instrumental solos – gracefully played too. On this evidence, the light music revival continues: BBC Radio 3 has just begun a dedicated Sunday series, in which this collection will surely figure. Piers Burton-Page