British Music for Strings III
555 457-2 (cpo, CD)
DDD
FIRST RELEASE (7 January 2022)
Playing time: 63'50"
Tracks: 13
Booklet pages: 24
℗ 2021 Classic Produktion Osnabrück
© 2021 Classic Produktion Osnabrück
Main country of recording: Germany
Country of manufacture: Germany
Reviewer: Gerald Fenech
Review of British Music for Strings III published on 13 March 2022
Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim
Douglas Bostock, conductor
Ethel Smyth (1858-1944), edited by Douglas Bostock:
Suite for Strings Op 1A (1883/1890)
1 Allegro con brio
2 Andantino poco allegretto
3 Scherzo: Allegro vivace
4 Adagio con moto
5 Allegro con moto
Susan Spain-Dunk (1880-1962), edited by Peter Cigleris:
Suite for String Orchestra (1920)
6 Prelude (Moderato)
7 Interlude (Allegretto – meno mosso – Tempo I)
8 Romance (Andante con espress.)
9 Scherzo: (Presto e spicato) con sord
10 Finale: (Lento ma non troppo – Allegro moderato)
Constance Warren (1905-1984):
11 Heather Hill for string orchestra (1929-32)
Susan Spain-Dunk, edited by Peter Cigleris:
12 Lament for String Orchestra (1934)
Ruth Gipps (1921-1999):
13 Cringlemire Garden: An Impression for String Orchestra, Op 39 (1952)
Vol III in our successful series with 'Music for Strings by British Composers' features works by four important Women Composers, some of whom initially were underappreciated and whose music only later was performed again and received proper recognition. However, the period from 1893 to 1934 was still an extremely favorable time for British women composers who wanted to present their works on their country’s concert stages inasmuch as they could count on support principally from Sir Henry Wood at the Proms and Dan Godfrey in Bournemouth. Ethel Smyth (familiar to our listening audience from cpo CDs with works by her) and Susan Spain-Dunk in particular profited from this support. In addition, this CD presents recording premieres of string compositions by Constance Warren and Ruth Gipps, in part in editions by the conductor Douglas Bostock himself.
Recorded 16-18 November 2020 at CongressCentrum, Pforzheim, Germany