Eric Coates: Orchestral Works Vol 4. BBC Philharmonic / John Wilson. © 2024 Chandos Records Ltd

Spotlight

Pleasant and Tuneful

GERALD FENECH finds Volume 4 of John Wilson's Eric Coates orchestral series charming, and looks forward to the next instalment

'Splendidly performed and recorded ...'

 

This very entertaining Eric Coates cycle from John Wilson and the Chandos label is now in its fourth instalment, and as the music unfolds it seems that things get more exciting with every new disc. This Volume Four opens with Music Everywhere, a rousing march that was commissioned by Britain's first independent TV and radio service for use as its signature tune.

Listen — Eric Coates: Music Everywhere
(CHAN 20292 track 1, 0:02-0:41) ℗ 2024 Chandos Records Ltd :

The concert waltz Footlights is a life-affirming evocation of the glamour of the inter-war West End, created just weeks before the Second World War. In wartime, as it turned out, the demand for refreshing, morale-boosting music would be higher than ever.

Coates' souvenir I sing to you was premiered on 14 March 1940 - the week in which wartime meat rationing was introduced in the UK.

Listen — Eric Coates: I sing to you
(CHAN 20292 track 3, 0:15-1:14) ℗ 2024 Chandos Records Ltd :

Composed for his young son Austin, The Three Bears phantasy transports the Goldilocks fairy tale firmly into the 1920s.

From Meadow to Mayfair reflects Coates' own journey from rural Nottinghamshire to life in London. Under the Stars, composed in 1928, marks the first inclusion by the composer of an alto saxophone in his orchestration.

Listen — Eric Coates: Under the Stars
(CHAN 20292 track 18, 0:00-0:56) ℗ 2024 Chandos Records Ltd :

The Four Centuries' Suite is one of Coates' most substantial compositions - not only in length but also in the size of the orchestra. Its four movements evoke the musical styles of the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Dedicated to his wife Phyllis, the work is also a celebration of the couple's lifelong love of dancing.

Listen — Eric Coates: Prelude and Hornpipe
(The Four Centuries' Suite)
(CHAN 20292 track 19, 1:24-2:20) ℗ 2024 Chandos Records Ltd :

So far this series has achieved immense success, and this is all due to the unbridled dedication of John Wilson, whose enthusiasm for English light music is truly infectious.

This is what The Telegraph had to say about Wilson's conducting:

'He has an unfussy but telling elegance of gesture - no sweaty conductor's ecstasy for him - which has surprisingly huge effects, like throwing the stage light-switches in a theatre; a single flick of that forefinger and we are flooded in aural dazzlement, colour and magic.'

The music on this Volume Four, dedicated to Coates' orchestral oeuvre, is as pleasant and tuneful as one can hope for, and in Wilson's hands the melodies flow by with gentle gracefulness. The more animated passages are handled with the necessary vigour but that inimitable touch of charm is never wanting. Splendidly performed and recorded, this fourth helping in this cycle makes one look forward to the next disc with great eagerness. Hopefully, we do not have to wait too long to enjoy another splendid evening with the Coates/Wilson duo.

Copyright © 16 August 2024 Gerald Fenech,
Gzira, Malta

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