British Classics

Featuring

Duncan Stubbs
Jonathan Hill
Central Band of the Royal Air Force
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Gustav Holst
Percy Grainger

Ernest Tomlinson
Gordon Langford

Did you know?

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Historical Context

In Britain, the collection and preservation of folk music gained impetus from volumes like John Broadwood's 1843 'Sixteen Old English Songs' and led to the formation of The Folk Song Society in 1898.

Performer Biography

The Central Band of the Royal Air Force has a long history of musical excellence, being the first military band to broadcast on BBC radio in 1922 and the first to make a long-playing record.

Composition History

Holst's First Suite for Military Band, completed in 1909, was a pioneering work, as serious extended concert works for military band were an unknown quantity at the time.

Recording & Production

This recording uses 24-bit / 96 kHz technology, which offers a dynamic range up to 48 dB greater and 256 times the resolution of standard 16-bit recordings, to reproduce the original waveform as closely as possible.

Composer Biography

Gustav Holst and Ralph Vaughan Williams, both shy and late-developing composers, met as students in 1895 and maintained a close friendship, discussing and critiquing each other's work.

Compositional Technique

Holst's First Suite in E flat is conceived entirely for wind band, with each movement founded on the same musical phrase, which recurs with variations and successively faster tempi.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Frederick Fennell, a figure in American wind music, believed in commissioning the best composers to write good wind music, rather than teaching bandsmen to compose.