William Alwyn - Concerto Grosso No.2 in G for String Orchestra • Autumn Legend for Cor Anglais and String Orchestra • "Lyra Angelica" Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra

Osian Ellis, harp
Geoffrey Browne, cor anglais
London Philharmonic Orchestra
William Alwyn, conductor

Label: Lyrita
Copyright: 1992 Lyrita Recorded Edition, England
Catalogue number: SRCD.230
UPC/EAN: 5020926023025
Format: CD
Analogue / Digital recording: ADD
Number of discs: 1
Total playing time: 59.17
Price: Ł 14.99 (+ postage & packing)

Recorded at Walthamstow, 10 & 11 January 1977, Producer: James Walker, Engineer: John Dunkerley

"Following up the welcome reissue of all five of Alwyn’s symphonies, come these two discs of shorter pieces, again with the composer a most persuasive interpreter. Alwyn himself with fair justice counted [Lyra Angelica] his most beautiful work … and Osian Ellis on the harp is second to none. Much the biggest work on the second disc is the Sinfonietta of 1970 … the central Adagio is among the most tenderly beautiful of Alwyn’s inspirations, the more touching for its restraint. There and throughout both these discs Alwyn’s technical mastery and his ability to conceal ingenuity make for consistently strong, immediate music-making. It is most welcome to have his on interpretations restored to the catalogue" Edward Greenfield, Gramophone

"There is a predominantly meditational aspect to Lyra Angelica that makes it appealing indeed. The delicacy of the second movement is most affecting, the intimacy very moving. The Moderato provides contrast with more determined lines from the strings, the finale with its swirls of harp-inflected colour. Osian Ellis is the perfect soloist, the recording of the strings everything one has come to expect from this company. Of all the Alwyn discs from Lyrita, this is surely the most special ..." Colin Clarke, www.musicweb-international.com Click here to read the full review