Joseph Holbrooke

Aucassin and Nicolette Ballet for Orchestra, Op.115 (1935)
i. Ballet: Moderato
ii. Entry of Count Garin: Poco vivo
iii. Marcia: Moderato
iv. Danse Pathétique: Slow
v. Return of the Soldiers: Marcia
vi. Mazurka
vii. Dance for Aucassin: Gracioso
viii. Peasant Dances (Trepaks): Vivace
ix. Scene: Allegro
x. Pas de deux
xi. Scene: Con moto
xii. Wedding March
xiii. Finale ensemble: Maestoso Vivace Waltz Andante con moto Vivo grazioso Piu vivo

Concerto in B flat major for Saxophone and Orchestra, Op.88 (1927)
i. Barcarolle (Allegretto grazioso) soprano saxophone
ii. Serenade (Allegretto e espressivo) alto saxophone
iii. Rondo (Con brio) alto & soprano saxophones

Richard Rodney Bennett
Seven Country Dances (2000)*
i. A New Dance
ii. Lady Day
iii. The Ladies' Misfortune
iv. Enfield Common
v. The Czar of Muscovy
vi. The Mulberry Garden
vii. Nobody's Jig

*Amy Dickson (alto & soprano saxophone)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
George Vass (conductor)

Recorded at RSNO Centre, Henry Wood Hall, Glasgow, 31 May & 1 June 2011
World premiere recordings

Dutton Epoch's pioneering Holbrooke series reaches its third volume, which couples Amy Dickson in the Saxophone Concerto the first British concerto for the instrument with the extended ballet Aucassin and Nicolette, the latter forgotten since its run at Golders Green Hippodrome before the War. In both these sunny scores we forget the grim, operatic Holbrooke evoking dark Celtic legends and revel in this tuneful music reminding us that Holbrooke enjoyed considerable success as a composer of light music. Anton Dolin recalled that Holbrooke's ballet long-remained one of the most popular items in the repertoire of the Markova-Dolin Company: It was a simple love story, delicately expressed and enchantingly staged. Here we have a score brimming with tuneful light-hearted numbers, critics at the time referring to one of the pleasantest things he has done and music of great melodic charm. Holbrooke's music is coupled with Richard Rodney Bennett's delightful Seven Country Dances, setting tunes from Playford's Dancing Master of 1651. Originally written for oboe and strings, in Richard Rodney Bennett's previously unrecorded saxophone version soloist Amy Dickson catches to perfection both aspects of the score: the boisterous and the achingly melancholic. As conductor George Vass remarks: Playford's tunes are merely starting points round which Bennett weaves ardent rhapsodies full of beautiful harmonies and rich textures immaculately crafted light music.

CDLX 7277

... Amy Dickson's creamy-smooth tonal palette is impressive ...

Richard Rodney Bennett's arrangements ... form a warmly entertaining coupling. Holbrooke's music is ... so agreeably listenable.

Terry Blaine, BBC Music Magazine, March 2012

... this is a most welcome addition to Dutton's growing catalog of works by forgotten English composers.

These are fine examples of the kind of sophisticated light-classic work in which the British excel ...

Is it great' music? ... It is beautifully crafted, tuneful, evocative, and doesn't overstay its welcome. What more would you ask?

Ronald E. Grames, Fanfare, May/June 2012