CD REVIEW
– ORCHESTRAL MUSIC OF HOWARD
BLAKE
Philharmonia Orchestra
SOMM SOMMCD 0678
[61.31]
I have to admit
that this is a first for me, but
those nice people at SOMM –
rightly celebrating their first
25 years of excellence –
thought it would be appreciated
by our readers. While Howard
David Blake OBE, FRAM (b 1938)
wrote over 700 works, including
concertos, oratorios, ballets,
opera and instrumentals alongside
his TV and film output, he is
most famous for his soundtrack on
Channel 4's 1982 animated film
'The Snowman', which includes the
song Walking in the Air.
He also wrote the words.
This release
showcases just four first
recordings of orchestral pieces.
The first is the 14½ minute Symphony
No.1: Impressions of a City.
The city being London, Blake is
following in the illustrious
footsteps of Haydn and Mozart.
The next 14 minutes is a fun
piece from 1992, Concert
Dances for piano and orchestra.
These are Parade, Slow
Ragtime, Jump, Medium Rock, Folk
Ballad, Boogie, Jazz Waltz,
Cha-Cha and Galop.
The third and
longest work is a concert suite
from The Court of Love,
a 1977 Sadler's Wells Royal
Ballet to celebrate the Silver
Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II,
which I enjoyed the most. Blake
conducts the Philharmonia for all
three works, the second from the
piano. The fourth composition is A
Month in the Country, a
suite for string orchestra from
the 1987 film starring Kenneth
Branagh in his first credited
role. This is played by the
English Northern Philharmonia
conducted by Paul Daniels.
Robert Matthew
Walker's helpful notes quote
recording producer (of five
tracks) Christopher Palmer:
"Popular music – that
is music for the people – is
very difficult in almost every
way: difficult to write (well),
to perform (well), to record, to
market". For his part, Blake
clearly succeeds.
Although not a
reissue, the first three works
were recorded at London's Henry
Wood Hall in March 1991 and the
last at Leeds Town Hall in August
1993. The booklet's back cover
details will be incorrect until
there is a reprint.
The album is an
interesting dip into the
composer's orchestral music and I
am left wondering why his
discography is not more
extensive. In my years editing
Keeping Track in Journal into
Melody, I can only recall
receiving one Blake review –
that being of his music for 'The
Avengers' TV series.
©
Peter Burt, November 2023
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