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Eric Coates: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4

BBC Philharmonic, John Wilson

Eric Coates: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4

Awards:

It’s entertaining stuff, light and breezy, and expertly played. A delight.

Eric Coates: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4

BBC Philharmonic, John Wilson

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Awards:

It’s entertaining stuff, light and breezy, and expertly played. A delight.

About

John Wilson’s fourth volume devoted to music by Eric Coates opens with Music Everywhere, a rousing march that was commissioned by Britain’s first independent TV and radio service, Rediffusion, for use as its signature tune. The concert waltz Footlights is a life-affirming evocation of the glamour of the inter-war West End, created just weeks before the start of the Second World War. In wartime, as it turned out, the demand for refreshing, morale-boosting music would be higher than ever. Coates's ‘Souvenir’ I Sing to You was premièred on 14 March 1940 – the week in which wartime meat rationing was introduced in the UK. Composed for his young son Austin, The Three Bears Phantasy transports the Goldilocks fairytale firmly into the 1920s. From Meadow to Mayfair reflects Coates’s own journey from rural Nottinghamshire to life in London. Under the Stars, composed in 1928, marks the first inclusion by Coates of an alto saxophone in his orchestration. The Four Centuries Suite is one of Coates’s most substantial compositions – not only in length, but also in the size of the orchestra. Its four movements evoke the musical styles of the sevent eenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. Dedicated to his wife, Phyllis, the work is also a celebration of the couple’s lifelong love of dancing.

Contents and tracklist

I. WHO'S BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR?'
Track length0:10
II. Goldilocks gets out of bed and dresses
Track length0:22
III. Clock strikes five
Track length0:57
IV. Goldilocks knocks at the Bears' door
Track length0:55
V. Goldilocks falls asleep in the small Bear's Bed
Track length0:48
VI. Enter the Three Bears
Track length0:45
VII. The Three Bears rush upstairs
Track length0:13
VIII. She runs away, followed by the Three Bears
Track length1:11
IX. The Three Bears make the best of it and return home, in the best of humour
Track length1:02
X. Goldilocks continues on her way home
Track length2:04
XI. As for the Three Bears – They put up a notice: 'BEWARE! THREE HUNGRY BEARS LIVE HERE!'
Track length1:05
I. In the Country (Rustic Dance)
Track length3:13
II. A Song by the Way (Romance)
Track length4:08
III. Evening in Town (Waltz)
Track length4:45
I. Prelude and Hornpipe
Track length6:15
II. Pavane and Tambourin
Track length5:51
III. Valse
Track length4:47
IV. Rhythm
Track length6:13

Spotlight on this release

Awards and reviews

October 2024

It’s entertaining stuff, light and breezy, and expertly played. A delight.

August 2024

Of particular note in this fourth volume is the suite Four Centuries, a work right up John Wilson’s street...This evocation of 1930s dance styles is brilliantly executed by the BBC Philharmonic, with the sure hand of the conductor guiding them though an intoxicating cocktail.

July 2024

Wilson and his BBC Philharmonic forces duly negotiate it with great naturalness and with full awareness of its flinting moods… Once again this is a winner of a disc, Wilson effortlessly demonstrating that he continues to be the best conductor of Coates’ music around.

12th July 2024

Like all good fairy-tales, Coates’s musical narrative [in Goldilocks and the Three Bears] expertly balances light and dark elements:..The shorter, more quintessentially Coatesian pieces are all done with bags of charm, panache and attention to the fine details of the composer’s piquant orchestration.

12th July 2024

The Three Bears fantasy is a particular winner, also the Four Centuries suite. But every track is performed with the necessary blend of flair, finesse and, most importantly, love.
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