Songs for Strings: Arrangements of Dowland, Purcell, Elgar and others

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It’s all nicely played, but perhaps the best way to appreciate this album’s merits is by way of a track here and there, rather than as an end-to-end listen. — Gramophone Magazine, November 2018

Release Date: 7th Sep 2018
Catalogue No: AV2391
Label: Avie
Length: 58 minutes

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Elgar: The Queen’s Hall

Work length4:01

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English Chamber Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Dowland: Time stands still

Work length3:31

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Purcell: Ground in C minor, ZD221

Work length3:28

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Lotti: Crucifixus

Work length3:15

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Porpora: Fugue No. 5 in G minor

Work length3:22

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Engish Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Excerpt, Vivaldi: Concerto in G minor for two cellos RV.531: Largo

Work length3:57

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Fraser, David: Lord Lovat’s Lament

Work length4:27

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Liszt: Nuages gris, S199

Work length3:53

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Scriabin: Canon in D minor

Work length2:56

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Ravel: A la manière de Borodine

Work length3:04

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Elgar: Pleading, Op. 48 No. 1

Work length3:16

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English Chamber Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Elgar: A Child Asleep

Work length6:16

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English Chamber Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Elgar: Queen Mary’s Song

Work length4:07

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English Chamber Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Fraser, D: Epilogue for Strings

Work length4:25

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English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

Marais, M: Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont de Paris

Work length4:36

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English Chamber Orchestra, English Symphony Orchestra
Donald Fraser

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On ‘Songs for Strings’, Donald Fraser demonstrates his flair for the art of arranging, crafting beautiful new versions for string orchestra of classic works by John Dowland, Edward Elgar, Henry Purcell, Antonio Vivaldi and others.

In the 1990s, Donald Fraser scored a hit with his orchestral arrangement of Marin Marais’ baroque classic The Bells of St. Genevieve which reached the Top 5 of Billboard’s Classical Chart and remains a radio evergreen to this day. Numerous commissions for arrangements followed for musicians such as The King’s Singers, Yehudi Menuhin and the English Chamber Orchestra. In 2016, AVIE released Don’s large-scale orchestration of Edward Elgar’s Piano Quintet and choral version of Sea Pictures, which charted in the Top 10 of the UK Specialist Classical Chart.

Don now returns to the art of arranging smaller scale, classic works by John Dowland, Henry Purcell, Antonio Vivaldi and others, including new versions of his own “Amen” from A Christmas Symphony which was written for and premiered by soprano Jessye Norman, a new re-mix of The Bells of St. Genevieve and orchestrations of four Elgar art songs that evoke the album’s title, Songs for Strings.

Critical acclaim for Donald Fraser’s orchestration of Elgar’s piano quintet and choral version of Sea Pictures (AV2362):

“a revelation...a triumph of transcription.” - Classical Music Magazine,

Premiere of the Year

”Richly upholstered orchestration.” - Gramophone

”remarkable...beautifully realised...It says a lot for Fraser’s skills as an

orchestrator.” - BBC Music Magazine

Reviews

November 2018

It’s all nicely played, but perhaps the best way to appreciate this album’s merits is by way of a track here and there, rather than as an end-to-end listen.

Offer,Songs for Strings

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