Henry Viii / Banks / Rpo / Souter - Spirit of England: A Musical Landscape - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Poet Laurence Binyon is known today for one famous verse from InchFor the Fallen,Inch the complete poem being the most substantial part of Elgar's the Spirit of England and the other two poems being InchThe Fourth of AugustInch and InchTo Women.Inch with this important new SOMM commemorates World War I, and the courage and patriotism of those who fell defending England. The war inspired Elgar to write some of his most moving pages of music, which he dedicated InchTo the memory of our glorious men.Inch the PhilharmoniaOrchestra, under the baton of John Wilson, and the London Symphony Chorus, under the direction of Simon Halsey, bring these pages to life in the most inspiring way. Another InchplusInch is the premiere recording of Elgar's Complete Incidental Music to Binyon's Play Arthur, edited and conducted here by Ben Palmer and his Orchestra of St Paul's.

This new is an uplifting collection of moving and wistful orchestral classics which celebrate the English landscape and it's natural beauty. English composers have always excelled at pastoral music with a hint of nostalgia from 'The lark ascending' to the strains of 'Greensleeves' this evocative selection features some of this pleasant land's finest music. English music-making and composition has long been associated with a reaction to the beautiful and varied rural landscapes of this historic country and is often tinged with nostalgia and a forlorn romanticism. All of the composers on this disc were fascinated by English folk music and many used folk songs as the melodic basis of many of their works. Bax was reflects the subject matter of Tintagel with it's association with King Arthur, Gustav Holst loved the English countryside, having been brought up in Gloucestershire.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy composed twelve symphonies for string orchestra - he was just at confirmation age. The dogma chamber orchestra is now presenting this youthfully fresh music for the first time in it's entirety, along with the five solo concertos with string accompaniment which were written at the same time. The symphonies one to three mark the beginning, as well as the virtuoso Piano Concerto in A minor with Herbert Schuch on the piano. Possibly the symphonies were written as InchhomeworkInch for the lessons with Carl Friedrich Zelter. He must have been very satisfied, because he proudly presented his pupil to his friend Goethe, who in turn put the boy on a par with Mozart. In fact, however, it was probably more likely that Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was the godfather with his Inchsensitive styleInch, as can be heard in the expressive voice leading and the almost romantic expression in the slow movements. Even though the first three symphonies are short in duration throughout, it seems as if an irrepressible will to explore the expressive potential of the music is trying to break through. The much larger piano concerto, on the other hand, is based on the contemporary virtuoso literature, including a breathtaking stretta in the final rondo. Herbert Schuch is the ideal instrumentation for this work, whose sonically beautiful middle movement contains many a dreamy episode. The agile dogma chamber orchestra, led by Mikhail Gurewitsch from the concertmaster's desk, is in top form here far more than just accompanying, the ensemble let's the carefree nature of the music run it's course, both concertante and symphonic. A Mendelssohn experience that one does not want to wait too long to continue.