Par DYSON GEORGE. The Cello Sonata by Sir George Dyson (1883?1964) is the most substantial of the composer?s earliest surviving works and is a welcome addition to the repertoire of romantic British cello music. Within Dyson?s small yet distinguished output, it merits recognition both as a significant instrumental score in its own right, and as a precursor of a corpus of scores expertly written for solo or ensemble strings. Evident throughout this work is Dyson?s appealing and characteristic strain of melody and harmony, both recognisably English and distinctly personal. / Date parution : 2021-11-03/ Répertoire / Violoncelle et Piano

For quite some time posterity remembered Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) for just a handful of songs and the operetta Ciboulette overlooking the incredible diversity of a catalogue as eclectic as it is appealing. Yet his chamber music contains many little-known treasures: thus cellist Steven Isserlis in his preface hastens to hail the first modern edition of these two scores which he regularly plays in recital so much does their beauty enchant the audience. Published in 1911 the Two Improvisations on Irish Airs for cello and piano turn out to be the transcription of his first and third Preludes for piano four hands (1894). Thesefolk themes come from the collection Songs of Old Ireland published 12 years earlier by Charles Villiers Stanford: gracefully and tenderly The Little Red Lark unfurls a melancholic tune of which the regular foundation respects the breadth of phrase typical of folk songs; in The Willow-Tree the lover begs his beloved in vain to take him in her arms one last time before he lies down lifeless in the shade of the tree. Beyond this sensitive exploration of the Irish soul Hahn offers us a journey into the past: the Variations chantantes sur un air ancien develop a theme borrowed from Cavalli’s opera Xerse. In this aria (1660 version: Act IV sc. 6) Ambassador Periarco dreams of moving away from court intrigues to be able to taste the pleasures ‘to which the gods have destined him’. Reynaldo Hahn’s variations succeed in maintaining the sweet simplicity of this theme as noble as it is refined.

Buxton Orr’s fantasies on famous themes are expert explorations of their source work rendered as brilliant new composition as is the virtuoso A Carmen Fantasy. It is equally demanding and rewarding in both parts. The composer also arranged it for Orchestra.British composer Buxton Orr was best known for his film and television scores particularly for the Hammer horror films and for a successful one-act opera The Wager. Upon becoming a professor at the Guildhall School of Music he founded their Contemporary Music Ensemble and was later conductor of the London Jazz Composer’s Orchestra.