Sir Arnold Bax (1883-1953) is a fine traditional English composer of many symphonies and shorter orchestral works. This CD brings together five shorter works, some of which I already own on vinyl.
Northern Ballad No 1 (1927) and Mediterranean (1920-22) are pleasant enough, but the real meat of this compilation must be the three symphonic tone poems The Garden of Fand (1913-16), Tintagel (1917-19) and my very favourite November Woods (1917). These three are beautifully recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and flow effortlessly through patterns of sound that evoke the light, sound and feel of the locations or subjects they are named after.
Wonderful music, highly recommended.
