Album

"English String Miniatures?" Surely and why not? English composers began writing string miniatures under Elizabeth I, but they really started cranking them out under Edward V and they now show no signs of stopping. But five volumes of "English String Miniatures?" After running through everything from everybody from Elgar to Delius to Vaughan Williams to Holst to Howells to Warlock to Walton to Britten to Tippett, one might reasonably suspect that the Brits had run out of string miniatures. But no: in this, the fifth volume of Gavin Sutherland and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia's apparently encyclopedic survey, yet more English String Miniatures have surfaced. And while they're not in the same class as the works of any of the above-mentioned composers, these works are still quite beguiling in their way. Pamela Harrison's five-movement Suite for Timothy from 1948 is a childhood charmer. Francis Chagrin's four-movement Renaissance Suite from 1969 is silly and saucy. Percy Fletcher's two-movement Folksong and Fiddle Dance from 1914 is instantly delightful. And so it goes on through three more wholly unknown but nevertheless appealing works by three nearly unknown but apparently quite competent composers until the final pièce de résistance, John Ireland's wonderfully witty and fabulously inventive A Dowland Suite. Sutherland leads the Sinfonia in performances that are polished, professional, and often even enthusiastic, and anyone who loves English String Miniatures should not hesitate, especially in Naxos' cool, dry, clean sound.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1
Pamela Harrison Composer Suite for Timothy, for string orchestra Work 18:10 Gavin Sutherland Conductor, Royal Ballet Sinfonia Orchestra
1	Allegretto	2:44			$0.99
2	Tempo di valse	2:42			$0.99
3	Presto	3:26			$0.99
4	Lento	5:42			$0.99
5	Allegro vivace	3:36			$0.99
Francis Chagrin Composer Renaissance Suite, for string orchestra Work 6:59 Gavin Sutherland Conductor, Royal Ballet Sinfonia Orchestra
6	Intrada marziale	1:01			$0.99
7	Pavana e gagliarda	2:44			$0.99
8	Canzona lamentevole	1:37			$0.99
9	Rondo giocoso	1:37			$0.99
Percy Fletcher Composer Folksong and Fiddle Dance, suite for string orchestra Work 8:57 Gavin Sutherland Conductor, Royal Ballet Sinfonia Orchestra
10	Folksong	5:21			$0.99
11	Fiddle Dance	3:36			$0.99
Paul Lewis [composer] Composer Suite navarraise, for string orchestra Work 10:51 Gavin Sutherland Conductor, Royal Ballet Sinfonia Orchestra
12	Arrive à Pau	3:32			$0.99
13	Berceau d'un prince	4:14			$0.99
14	Le vert galant	3:05			$0.99
Albert Cazabon Composer Giocoso for string orchestra Work Gavin Sutherland Conductor, Royal Ballet Sinfonia Orchestra
15	Giocoso for string orchestra	2:53			$0.99
Humphrey Searle Composer Three Pieces, for string orchsetra (arr. by Humphrey Searle) Work 9:46 Gavin Sutherland Conductor, Royal Ballet Sinfonia Orchestra
16	Fugue I	4:27			$0.99
17	Voluntary IV	2:50			$0.99
18	Fugue III	2:29			$0.99
John Ireland Composer A Downland Suite, arrangement for orchestra (completed by G. Bush) Work 17:47 Gavin Sutherland Conductor, Royal Ballet Sinfonia Orchestra
19	Prelude	4:28			$0.99
20	Elegy	4:58			$0.99
21	Minuet	4:43			$0.99
22	Rondo	3:38			$0.99