Alvars / Chamber Ensemble Of London / Michael Eclogue CD

SOMM Recordings is delighted to announce the release of Eclogue. British Chamber Music, a collection of British chamber music from the 19th to the 21st centuries including nine first recordings featuring the label debut of the Chamber Ensemble of London in their 25th anniversary year with director Peter Fisher. Illustrious guest artists - Margaret Fingerhut (piano), Gabriella Dall'Olio (harp), Peter Cigleris (clarinet), Judith Hall (flute) and Michael Stowe (oboe) - join the ensemble for a wide-ranging survey that includes Gerald Finzi's masterpiece, Eclogue. Receiving first recordings are two works by Clive Jenkins - his Piano Concertino of 2018, performed by it's dedicatee, Margaret Fingerhut; and Three Pieces for Oboe especially arranged by the composer for this recital - and the recently deceased Joseph Horovitz's Concertante for Clarinet and Strings. Also new to album are Alan Ridout's three-part Concertino for Flute and Strings, Cecilia McDowall's y deryn pur ('the gentle dove'), two extracts from Don Shearman's Eine Kleine Leichtmusik ('A Little Lightmusic') and a new arrangement by Peter Cigleris of 'Frensham Pond' from William Lloyd Webber's Country Impressions. Among the rarities featured are the Romance from Elias Parish Alvars' Concertino for Harp and Orchestra, and Robin Milford's Mr John Peel Passes By, alongside Ronald Binge's ever-popular The Watermill, familiar to television viewers as the theme for a BBC adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden. Formed by violinist and director Peter Fisher in 1997, the Chamber Ensemble of London consists of handpicked players from leading London-based orchestras and chamber music ensembles and performs widely throughout the capital.