English Music For Strings: Britten, Bliss, Bridge, Berkeley

Here in [the Bridge Lament] is a prime example of the heartfelt precision and beauty of tone that typifies John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London. There’s plenty of heart, too, in their superlative... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2021, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 29th Jan 2021
Catalogue No: CHSA5264
Label: Chandos
Length: 64 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

Critics' Choice 2021
Gramophone Magazine

February 2021

Editor's Choice
Presto Recording of the Week

29th January 2021
Gramophone Awards

2021

Shortlisted - Orchestral
Presto Recordings of the Year

Winner 2021

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This release includes a digital booklet

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Britten: Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10

Work length23:34

$11.00

$13.20

$17.60

Sinfonia of London
John Wilson

Introduction & Theme

Track length1:31

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 1, Adagio

Track length1:52

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 2, March

Track length1:05

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 3, Romance

Track length1:31

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 4, Aria italiana

Track length1:11

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 5, Bourrée classique

Track length1:17

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 6, Wiener Walzer

Track length2:05

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 7, Moto perpetuo

Track length1:00

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 8, Funeral March

Track length3:49

$1.00

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$1.60

Var. 9, Chant

Track length1:39

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Var. 10, Fugue & Finale

Track length6:34

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Bridge: Lament

Work length3:47

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Sinfonia of London
John Wilson

Berkeley, L: Serenade for Strings, Op. 12

Work length13:00

$4.00

$4.80

$6.40

Sinfonia of London
John Wilson

I. Vivace

Track length2:09

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

II. Andantino

Track length3:52

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

III. Allegro moderato

Track length3:11

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

IV. Lento

Track length3:48

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

Bliss: Music for Strings

Work length23:54

$5.00

$6.00

$6.40

Sinfonia of London
John Wilson

I. Allegro moderato, enerfico

Track length8:38

$2.00

$2.40

II. Andante, molto sostenuto

Track length8:52

$2.00

$2.40

III. Allegro molto - Andante moderato

Track length6:24

$1.00

$1.20

$1.60

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Recording of the Week, John Wilson conducts English music for strings

29th January 2021

Sinfonia of London and conductor John Wilson present their latest stunning album of music for string orchestra by Britten, Bridge, Berkeley, and Bliss.

During the 1930s, Bliss, Britten, and Berkeley all contributed major works to the repertoire for string orchestra, following in the footsteps of Elgar and Vaughan Williams. They are joined on this album by Frank Bridge whose Lament was composed during the First World War. This is the fourth recording by John Wilson with his award-winning Sinfonia of London. Bliss composed Music for Strings after he had completed the film score for Korda’s Things to Come, driven by his desire to compose a piece of ‘pure music’, expressing his own ideas rather than those of others. Commissioned in May 1937 by Boyd Neel for the Salzburg Festival that summer, Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge was composed at great speed, and helped to establish the young composer’s international reputation. Dedicated to his teacher, Frank Bridge, the theme is taken from the second of Bridge’s Three Idylls for string quartet. Lennox Berkeley composed his Serenade for Strings at Snape Maltings, where he was living with Britten in 1938 / 39. By the time of its completion the nation was at war and the music seems to reflect the composer’s anxious mood as the world faced an uncertain future. The album is recorded in Surround-Sound, and available as a hybrid SACD. The front cover features a painting by Edward Wadsworth of Bliss’s house, Pen Pits, built for him in 1935.

Reviews

March 2021

Here in [the Bridge Lament] is a prime example of the heartfelt precision and beauty of tone that typifies John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London. There’s plenty of heart, too, in their superlative treatment of Britten’s marvellous Bridge variations, warmly delivered even during the parody character pieces clustered together in the first half…Wilson’s team prove equally adroit in Berkeley’s Serenade.

February 2021

The players may have changed [since Barbirolli] but the spirit has not. And the sound. Sumptuous is one word – but because this is Wilson that goes hand-in-hand with the keenest articulation. There’s a rosiny immediacy about it all, like being on the podium, or better yet inside the sound...Wilson’s way with strings has come a long way from Hollywood – but the lustre is inescapable.

29th January 2021

Right from the determined opening bars of Britten's Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, it's clear that this is an exceptional album. There's a richness and sumptuousness to the string sound that is truly thrilling, not least in the lower strings...I can't recall many other ensembles who, like a flock of birds moving as one in the sky, are able to adapt and adjust so quickly and single-mindedly…I really can't fault it. Bliss, indeed…

12th December 2021

Wilson’s handpicked band plays with a depth of sonority and variety of tone to challenge the greatest ensembles.

13th February 2021

Forget any notions of wistful pastoral this title might suggest: English Music for Strings, performed by the Sinfonia of London, conducted by John Wilson, is a collection of works from the 1930s, with a sharp, modernist energy to match. Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, with its poise, angularity and gleam, receives a virtuosic performance from this ace ensemble.

English Music For Strings

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Recording of the Week, John Wilson conducts English music for strings