Album

While his vast and comprehensive compositional output was no doubt influenced by a great many events in his long lifetime, the arrival of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes can certainly be considered a cornerstone event for English composer Arnold Bax. Bax made several attempts at composing ballet music; many of his scores were never completed or orchestrated. Others were lost and forgotten for decades, like the score for From Dusk till Dawn, which lay dormant for decades before being rediscovered. This Chandos album includes two complete ballet scores, much of whose music has not been heard since the original stage debuts. The choice to present the full score rather than an extracted suite is a curious one. While it is nice to experience all of what Bax intended us to hear, much of the original context is lost to modern audiences. The works on which the ballets were based are incredibly obscure, so it can be difficult to interpret exactly what each musical selection is attempting to portray. As such, it is sometimes easy for listeners to lose their attention during the course of the album. The London Philharmonic Orchestra under Bryden Thomson certainly does everything possible to keep listeners engaged. The orchestra's sound is magnificently colorful and rich. Thomson keeps things moving during some of the more drawn-out sections and guides the orchestra through a wealth of color and sound variations.

© Mike D. Brownell, All Music Guide

CD 1
Sir Arnold Bax Composer The Truth about the Russian Dancers (Incidental Music)...Part 1 Work 22:59 Bryden Thomson Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
1	1.Overture	4:10			$0.99
2	2.Entry of Karissima	1:15			$0.99
3	3.Karissima Plays Golf	3:02			$0.99
4	4.Karissima and Lady Vere	1:36			$0.99
5	5.The Walking Lesson	1:12			$0.99
6	6.Lord Vere Tells his Mother of his Love for Karissima	0:18			$0.99
7	7.Karissima Appeals for Love	0:28			$0.99
8	8.Karissima Droops Pathetically	1:02			$0.99
9	9.Karissima's Dance of Joy	0:42			$0.99
10	10.The Wedding Ceremony	1:37			$0.99
11	11.Dance: corps de ballet	1:18			$0.99
12	12.The Wedding Service	2:52			$0.99
13	13.A Wild Night. The Maestro	1:54			$0.99
14	14.The Clock Strikes Twelve	0:17			$0.99
15	15.Lord Vere Pleads for a Child	0:40			$0.99
16	16.Karissima and Lord Vere Go off in Gay Delight	0:36			$0.99
Sir Arnold Bax Composer The Truth about the Russian Dancers (Incidental Music)...Part 2 Work 23:26 Bryden Thomson Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
17	1.Dance of Motherhood	6:16			$0.99
18	2.The Funeral of Karissima	5:34			$0.99
19	3.Child's Dance. Allegretto vivace	2:16			$0.99
20	4.Karissima's Farewell	5:57			$0.99
21	5.Finale	3:23			$0.99
Sir Arnold Bax Composer Between Dusk and Dawn, ballet Work 20:16 Bryden Thomson Conductor, London Philharmonic Orchestra Orchestra
22	1.Prelude: Summer Night at the Window	2:07			$0.99
23	2.The Wind Dances in the Garden	1:47			$0.99
24	3.Midnight Strikes	0:38			$0.99
25	4.The Awakening	1:35			$0.99
26	5.The Flower's Dance	1:27			$0.99
27	6.The Dancer and the Clown	1:32			$0.99
28	7.The Wind Dances Through the Room	1:11			$0.99
29	8.The Clock strikes One	0:16			$0.99
30	9.The Flowers Dance Again	3:11			$0.99
31	10.The Clock Strikes Two	0:16			$0.99
32	11.The Dancer Falls Weeping into the Clown's Arms	0:12			$0.99
33	12.The Clown Thrusts Her Aside and Scolds Her	0:09			$0.99
34	13.They Quarrel. Tempo of the Dance	0:37			$0.99
35	14.The Wind	1:15			$0.99
36	15.The Dancer Humbly Draws the Clown's Attention to the Sad Fate of his Rival	0:59			$0.99
37	16.The Dancer Turns Back to the Clown	0:50			$0.99
38	17.Dawn	0:27			$0.99
39	18.The Clock Strikes Three	0:16			$0.99
40	19.Everything is Still, a Sad Silence Reigns	0:52			$0.99
41	20.The Wind Blows the Dancer into the Clown's Stiff Arms	0:39			$0.99