BBC National Orchestra of Wales & Rumon Gamba – British Tone Poems, Vol. 1 (2017) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Alongside their British Isles Overtures series, the BBC NOW and the conductor Rumon Gamba launch a project to bring often neglected symphonic poems by British composers to wider attention and fame. This first volume presents some of the most individual, yet rarely heard, British tone poems written in the early twentieth century, by composers ranging from the long-established Ralph Vaughan Williams and William Alwyn to Balfour Gardiner and Granville Bantock, giants in their time. Works include Bantock’s atmospheric The Witch of Atlas, based on a poem by Shelley, Frederic Austin’s symphonic rhapsody Spring, Gardiner’s evocation of summer A Berkshire Idyll, recorded here for the first time, and Gurney’s mysterious A Gloucestershire Rhapsody, never performed before 2010.

Tracklist:
01. Spring: I. Moderate Movement, Easily Swinging
02. Spring: II. Poco meno mosso
03. Spring: III. Slightly Broader Than Tempo I
04. Spring: IV. Andante moderato
05. Spring: V. Più animato quasi ad libitum
06. Blackdown
07. The Witch of Atlas: A. Lento molto e tranquillo
08. The Witch of Atlas: B. Lento misterioso
09. The Witch of Atlas: C. L’istesso tempo-Molto cantabile e sostenuto
10. The Witch of Atlas: D. Allegretto molto leggiero-Molto sostenuto
11. The Witch of Atlas: E. Andante con molta tenerezza
12. The Witch of Atlas: F. Accelerando-Poco più moto
13. The Witch of Atlas: G. Marziale con anima-Harp Cadenza
14. The Witch of Atlas: H. Più tranquillamente-Tempo I-Molto lento
15. A Gloucestershire Rhapsody (Ed. P. Lancaster & I. Venables): I. Maestoso e con ampio trascinare-Più mosso
16. A Gloucestershire Rhapsody (Ed. P. Lancaster & I. Venables): II. L’istesso tempo
17. A Gloucestershire Rhapsody (Ed. P. Lancaster & I. Venables): III. Poco più mosso
18. A Gloucestershire Rhapsody (Ed. P. Lancaster & I. Venables): IV. A tempo-Poco più mosso
19. A Gloucestershire Rhapsody (Ed. P. Lancaster & I. Venables): V. Alla marcia
20. A Berkshire Idyll: I. Adagio-Poco più mosso. Andante non troppo
21. A Berkshire Idyll: II. L’istesso tempo-Poco tranquillo
22. A Berkshire Idyll: III. Andante non troppo
23. A Berkshire Idyll: IV. Adagio, quasi andante-Lento-A tempo tranquillo
24. The Solent