The Dutton anthology centres around Alwyn's ouptut for flute. Indeed, it was as a flautist that the 15-year-old Alwyn gained admission to the Royal Academy of Music in 1920, later joining the ranks of the LSO (with whom he frequently performed under Elgar's baton), so it comes as no surprise that he writes with such fluency and understanding for the instrument. Of the six works here particularly appealing is Naiades, a pellucid, often ravishing fantasy-sonata for flute and harp composed in 1971 for Christopher Hyde-Smith and Marisa Robles. William Bennett was the lucky dedicatee of the engaging 1980 Concerto, while the distinguished French virtuoso René Le Roy premiered the resourceful (and technically demanding) Divertimento that Alwyn wrote for the 1941 ISCM Festival in New York.
Ten years later, Alwyn fashioned his twomovement Trio for Le Roy, pianist Jacques Février and composer-cellist Roger Albin. It's a most fetching creation, as is the compact Sonata from 1948. The French Suite (1937) is a graceful reworking of 18th-century airs for flute, violin, viola and harp. Needless to say, Philippa Davies performs with phenomenal control, sensitivity and panache throughout, and her colleagues in the Nash Ensemble tender immaculate support.
Strongly recommended.