MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Alwyn: Prelude / Blackdown / Peter Pan Suite / Ad Infinitum / etc (with music by Vaughan Williams, York Bowen & Hubert Parry)

"This is a wonderful collection of little-known, long-forgotten British music. But what approachable, melodic, evocative, dramatic works they are. In John Wilson, Dutton Epoch has a young enthusiastic conductor who is committed to British music. He indulges this music's often overt romanticism but with sincerity and naturalness. In the case of the Alwyn works, Wilson who is a keen film music aficionado, appreciates and underlines its cinematic qualities."
(MusicWeb Recording of the Month Dec 2009)

Dutton Epoch's world premiere recording of Vaughan Williams's Heroic Elegy & Triumphal Epilogue is a terrific find. Much more than an interesting early work, it is a vibrant and haunting score that in its time (it dates from 1901) must have been found truly pioneering. It is now revealed as a cherishable score to join the regular RVW canon. The programme also includes five unheard short pieces by William Alwyn, all brilliant and characteristic of the composer. York Bowen's gorgeously romantic tone poem Eventide proves to be a really lovely discovery, while three delightful movements from Parry's incidental music to Hypatia include Orestes March, a catchy number that you will soon be whistling in the bath.