English String Miniatures, Vol. 5 – The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Gavin Sutherland
‘Naxos continues to unearth a host of modest but very attractive works – mostly pastoral in mood – by skilled practitioners of the “light music” genre, which the English, Lord love ’em, might as well have patented. Why are British composers so good at writing music that seeks to evoke an optimistic, or at its heaviest a wistfully nostalgic mood, simply to entertain the widest possible audience? It may be a matter of supply and demand. The BBC has always been a steady market for fresh scores requiring small-to-medium-sized ensembles; so has the native cinema; so, to a diminishing extent, has the theatre. And major UK orchestras have unapologetically programmed the better ...
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