Composer: Sir Malcolm Arnold
Works: English Dances, Set 1; English Dances, Set 2; Scottish Dances; Cornish Dances; Irish Dances; Welsh Dances
Performer: Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Andrew Penny
Label: Naxos
Catalog Number: 8.553526
Format: CD
Duration: 54:37
For listeners new to Malcolm Arnold, this Naxos disc remains one of the best places to begin. It brings together all of the composer’s regional dance suites, and at the time of release it had the added distinction of being the only available recording of the complete set to include the Welsh Dances. That alone gave it a strong claim on collectors, but the disc’s real value lies in how naturally it presents Arnold in one of his most appealing guises: tuneful, rhythmically alive, brilliantly orchestrated, and immediately likable.
These works do not quote actual folk material in any strict documentary way. Instead, Arnold creates music that suggests the character of each place through melodic contour, rhythmic profile, and instrumental color. The Scottish Dances have something of northern weather in them, with a sense of open air and distance; the Cornish Dances include a hymnlike strain that suggests chapel culture and regional devotion; the Irish Dances are deftly colored, with touches of piccolo and harp helping define their sound world. Throughout, Arnold writes with complete assurance for orchestra. Brass play an important role, but the woodwinds and strings are every bit as crucial to the music’s wit, warmth, and atmosphere.
Andrew Penny leads these scores with confidence and without pretension. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra plays with alertness and plenty of dash, and the performances have the kind of lift that makes this music register exactly as it should: not as “light” in the dismissive sense, but as music of genuine craft, charm, and invention. There is élan here from start to finish, and the tunes stick in the ear.
Collectors may still prefer the composer-led Lyrita for sonic splendor or the Chandos disc for a somewhat more polished orchestral finish, but Penny and the Queensland players make an exceptionally strong case for themselves. More importantly, Naxos offers the program in generous, attractive form, and the performances never sound like a compromise. This disc succeeds on its own musical terms.
Arnold’s dances show him at his most cordial and accessible, yet never merely lightweight. The music is full of affection for the places it evokes, and the performances respond in kind. As an introduction to the composer, and as a budget recommendation of real substance, this recording earns its reputation.
