Orchestral Works 3
Chandos's Grainger Edition brings yet another cornucopia of delights delivered with indefatigable dedication and twinkling charisma by Richard Hickox and the BBC Philharmonic. The formula is the same as on this team'sfirstandsecondvolumes of Grainger's orchestral music, with tried-and-trusted nuggets such asGreen BushesandColonial Song(both given here in particularly lavish orchestrations from 1905-06 and 1919, respectively) sitting alongside genuine rarities likeThe Merry King(based on a folk tune from West Sussex and boasting a seductively ornate piano contribution) and the amazingly colorfulEnglish DanceNo.1 (a riot of a piece that prompted Gabriel Fauré to exclaim: "It's as if the total population were a-dancing!"). Perhaps the most startlingly original items here were conceived for wind band, namely the bracingly tangyHill Song No.2and that ambitious, extraordinarily titled essayThe Power of Rome and the Christian Heart(which also draws on material from the first movement of Grainger's gloriousDanish Folk Song Suite). Chandos's thrillingly realistic sonics fairly leap from the loudspeakers. All told, this disc is not to be missed.--Andrew Achenbach