Search - Percy Grainger, Douglas Lilburn, Arthur Benjamin :: Colonial Diversions

Delightful Orchestral Miniatures

Patrick A Daley | Fredericton, New Brunswick | 11/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Percy Grainger and Arthur Benjamin were born in Australia but had international careers. George Dreyfus was born in Germany but moved to Australia to escape the Nazis--as Maestro Tintner had a little earlier. Douglas Lilburn was a New Zealander and the little pieces of his on the recording make me want to hear his symphonies. Jean Coulthard, the only female composer here, lived in Vancouver, British Columbia.



The Grainger pieces are very tuneful, as one would expect. They are not very deep but they are music to enjoy.



One feels Douglas Lilburn is the best composer here. The five short movments of his Diversions for Strings are imaginative, well constructed and diverse in mood. Naxos has recorded some of his shorter orchestral works, overtures and tone poems, as well as his three symphonies, and both those discs are well worth having.



I know very little about George Dreyfus, though the liner notes say he composed music in a variety of genres. His Serenade for Small Orchestra was written for Australian music camps and is a fun work, the sort of thing adults conceive that young people will enjoy.



North American Square Dance by Arthur Benjamin is said to be based on a variety of American and Canadian fiddle tunes. It is beautifully done and very well played, too.



Jean Coulthard is another unfamiliar composer. Her Excursion Ballet Suite is said to be inspired by youthful experiences, possibly involving ferry boat excursions. It's a very interesting work.



It's hard to find recordings of some of this music anywhere else. Anyway, these are delightful little pieces, well performed. The sound quality is very good, quite natural and well-balanced. As for judging the recording quality, I have Paradigm Signature S2 speakers (I also have an older Paradigm subwoofer), which measure very well indeed and which have received top ratings in Soundstage and Stereophile magazines. Another winner from Symphony Nova Scotia."