Music and Vinyl: Lyrita Overtures

Lyrita recording sessions for major works sometimes had "time over" to record shorter pieces for later release, and this album collects together some of those pieces - "overtures" broadly speaking. Not that any here were openings for an opera or a ballet, but any could be an opening piece on a concert programme.

Music here is from six composers active around the middle of the 20th century (typical Lyrita fare) - with Walter Leigh only barely making it, having been killed in action in World War II and thus sadly cutting short what would have no doubt been an impressive output. Leigh's style in his piece Agincourt is noticeably earlier than the other composers represented here, with touches of Elgarian influence. The "Agincourt Song" - heard more often in Walton's suite for the Laurence Olivier film of Henry V - has a memorably subtle introduction and is one of the many touches that make you wish Walter Leigh had been able to compose more.

Malcolm Arnold is probably the most widely known composer here - prolific in both symphonies (9), and film scores (over 100) as well as concertos for many instruments (here are his two Flute Concertos). His Comedy Overture Beckus The Dandipratt dates from 1943 (when Arnold was 22).

Street Corner is a 1944 piece by Alan Rawsthorne - and was a commission by the Army Entertainment organisation. I've previously posted his Second Piano Concerto.

Romanian born Francis Chagrin, like Malcolm Arnold. composed orchestral music and film (and TV) scores - including music for some Dr Who TV episodes. He is represented here by the 1951 Helter Skelter.

I recently posted Geoffrey Bush's First Symphony, but here we have his Overture Yorick. Dating from 1949 and titled after the dead court jester whose skull is exhumed in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Bush wrote the piece in memory of British comedian Tommy Handley.

Lastly (though it opens side 1 of the record) we have William Alwyn. His Fifth Symphony appeared in these pages earlier this year, but here we have his Derby Day from 1960.

Hugo Coles' notes for this Lyrita album are well worth reading for their succinct descriptions of the music (click on the scan below to read). Though dating from different sessions - probably in different venues, the recorded sound is remarkably consistent across all the pieces and well up to Lyrita's Decca engineers' high standards. I'm sure a splendid time was had by all concerned.

Two of the conductors on this record - Nicholas Braithwaite and Vernon Handley - took part in a BBC Radio programme about Lyrita - which you can hear by scrolling to the bottom of this page.