This 54-minute CD focuses on compositions by the esteemed British composer
Malcolm Arnold recorded between 1947 and 1956. (Though
Arnold is credited as the artist in the packaging, he actually only conducted a couple of the tracks.) For someone whose career stretched over several decades, such a compilation can't (and doesn't pretend to) offer a representative summation of career highlights. For listeners who want some of his pieces recorded early in his career, however, it's an interesting listen, though the varied moods and orchestral settings they explore make them difficult to characterize. At times, they're whimsical and humorous, "The Belles [sic] of St Trinian's -- Prelude" combining incessantly trilling bells with lively vaudevillian-influenced piano, and the adrenaline-fueled "The Captain's Paradise" sounding like the theme to a madcap film comedy. Other works offer jazzy and orchestral soundtrack-type ambience typical of music heard in '50s movies. "The Sound Barrier" and "Beckus the Dandipratt," on the other hand, offer more somber, grand classical passages that one might associate with
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (who play the former) and
the London Philharmonic Orchestra (who perform the latter). Playful and serious elements come together in the sweep of "English Dances Op. 27 & 33," whose eight sections comprise the largest part of this album, and whose concluding "Giubiloso" has the jubilant, anthemic, just-slightly-pompous quality associated with some of
Arnold's more celebrated writing.