Search - Arnold, Pople, London Festival Orch :: Sinfoniettas 1-3 / Flute Concerto

Sheer, sunny bliss.

darragh o'donoghue | 04/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe it's because Spring has finally cleaned the dim Dublin air, but there has rarely been a more fitting time to listen Malcolm Arnold's sunny music. Though the five small-scale pieces on this CD are orchestral (3 sinfoniettas and 2 concertos), they have the wit, intimacy and light touch of chamber music. One of the few composers of the 20th century not to disdain melody, Arnold's works here brim with tunes and airs, some reminiscent in atmosphere and development of the film music he is most famous for, others budding into the ravishing harmonies of salon music, or what we might call today muzak (not an insult in my vocabulary). In the concertos, the orchestral writing is so transparent and light, it runs like a solo instrument duetting with harp or oboe. The most delightful surprises are to be found in Sinfoniettas '2' and '3', with allusive tributes to an even greater film composer, Bernard Herrmann - '3' slashes with 'Psycho'esque strings, while '2' swoons with 'Vertigo''s sustained fatal romance. Ross Pople and the London Festival Orchestra, who organised the composer's 75th birthday celebrations in 1996, play these works as if they were drinking with old friends."