Search - Alwyn, Daniel, Haffner Wind Ensemble of London :: Chamber Music 1

Delightful assortment of Alwyn

jsa | San Diego, CA United States | 06/21/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Given the high quality of the compositions on this disc, it is surprising that four out of five are premier recordings (keeping in mind that Chandos issued this back in 1993). I know that the musical world is awash in great chamber music, but that such beautiful works as "Suite for Oboe and Harp," and "Music for Three Players," have been languishing in a desk drawer seems almost incredible. Well, there it is. It's our gain that Chandos, as part of their excellent Alwyn series, recorded these works, but I would snap this disc up because it appears to be nla, other than through resellers.



If you like the intimacy of Debussy's & Ravel's chamber music, you'll love this disc. There's a lot of harp, flute & piano - in fact, Ravel's "Introduction & Allegro" come to mind as does Debussy's "Sonata for Flute, Alto & Harp." It's all very pleasant, but also substantial & even if some of it may seem a little derivative, who cares? After all, Debussy & Ravel aren't around to write more great music, but we're fortunate that William Alwyn could write in the same vein, with his own personal stamp of course.



The performances are by The Haffner Wind Ensemble, directed by premier oboist Nicholas Daniel; and supplemented by Julius Drake, who has recorded extensively as a chamber musician & an accompaniest. Very warmly recommended."