This CD offers just under an hour of agreeable if slightly – well, slight – listening, and as such it might be best thought of as a sampler or calling card for a composer whose major achievements are to be found elsewhere.
The symphony opens with a sense of coiled drama, as over a throbbing pulse, sweeping strings and harp, alongside squealing winds and brass, create a phantasmagoric mood.
This collection of compositions by 15 living composers is perfectly described in an introduction by Paul Hindmarsh of the Royal Northern College of Music as a ‘Garland of tributes to Sir John Manduell.
These remastered recordings are taken from early recordings and film soundtracks. The music ranges from ballets Holst’s The Perfect Fool and Falla’s El Amor Brujo, through incidental music for a play Delius’s Hassan, to films, with well-known music by Vaughan Williams, Walton, and Bliss.
Edward Gregson, 75 last year, is one of those rarities among composers of his generation in that throughout his career he has not abandoned tonality or melody and still developed an international reputation.