In this glorious programme featuring Elgar's late 1920s and ’30s HMV recordings, works include the Falstaff: Symphonic Study in C minor, the charming Nursery Suite (the version presented here recorded in the presence of royalty) and the Cello Concerto in E minor, with Beatrice Harrison as soloist. We are reminded why Elgar was such a force to be reckoned with in twentieth century music.

This particularly remarkable release comprises recordings made in the pre-electric ‘acoustic’ era. It features recordings dating back as far as 1916 of charming orchestral works such as Sir Frederic Cowen’s The Butterfly’s Ball, Elgar’s Fringes of the Fleet recorded for HMV in 1917 and Holst’s Beni Mora – Oriental Suite recorded in 1924. Music aside, it is quite astonishing to hear how incredibly clear these vintage recordings sound in the twenty-first century, owing to Michael J. Dutton’s exquisite remastering.

CDBP 9777

CDBP 9781

CDBP 9798

This release celebrates the wonderful music written for British films during the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s by composers better-known for their works in the classical realm and for the concert hall. Vaughan Williams’s rousing music from the films ‘The Loves of Joanna Godden’ and ‘49th Parallel’ is heard, as is William Walton’s famous Spitfire Fugue from ‘The First of the Few’. Gordon Jacob is represented with his theme and an underscore from ‘Esther Waters’, while John Ireland’s incidental music from ‘The Overlanders’ is on offer, as is some of William Alwyn’s music from ‘The Rake’s Progress’ and ‘Cure for Love’. In some cases these composers’ music was better than the films it was written for, and much of the material heard here is making its first appearance on CD. Orchestras/conductors heard performing these scores include the London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic orchestras conducted by Muir Mathieson, and the Hallé conducted by William Walton.

CDEA 6146

CDVS 1913

CDVS 1964