John Collett, William Smethergell, John Marsh, Thomas Erskine. Sometime during this disc’s 71 minutes you’ll wonder why you’ve never heard of these very fine 18th century British symphonists–but you’ll have no doubt about wanting to hear more. From the opening of Erskine’s dashing Periodical Overture (Symphony) to the antiphonal interplay of the program’s closing work, Marsh’s A Conversation Sinfonie for double orchestra, you’ll be impressed, entertained and, unless you just hate lively, tuneful instrumental music, just a little uplifted and energized. Although Thomas Arne and Carl Abel are fairly well-known today and represented to some degree in the CD catalog, the others are equally deserving of serious attention. All of these three-movement works–Collett’s brilliant Symphony Op. 2 No. 5 in E-flat has four–feature beautifully spun melodies, richly colored orchestrations, and an original and thorough mastery of classical symphonic style we normally associate with Mozart, Haydn, and C.P.E. and J.C. Bach.
Besides the very high standard of the writing, much of this recording’s success is due to the uniformly fine, exceptionally articulate interpretation and vibrant sound of the period-instrument Hanover Band orchestra. Listen to the elegant, eloquent horns in the Larghetto of Arne’s Symphony No. 4, and try not to get swept right out of your seat by the churning, driving energy of the opening Allegro of Collett’s symphony. And prepare to be charmed by the lovely pastoral Andante of Smethergell’s B-flat work and dazzled by the unflagging precision of the Hanover Band strings. The perfectly-captured sound (owing in no small measure to veteran engineer Mike Clements), made in the orchestra’s resident venue, The Old Market, Hove, brings fully to life the reedy warmth, brassy grit, and burnished buzz of the period instruments, whose quality of tone and technical possibilities this orchestra knows just how to exploit–to blend or contrast–where required. In addition to the pure musical pleasure that this recording offers and the fact that it introduces these deserving works and composers to new listeners, the project provides other benefits, including performing editions of several of the symphonies, some fine, informative booklet notes, and the hope that these performers will soon record more of this excellent repertoire. In all, this disc is a pleasant surprise, a real find, and unquestionably one of the year’s best so far.
