English Chamber Orchestra & Julian Lloyd Webber - And the Bridge is Love (2015) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

This wide-ranging programme of English music for strings includes the world première recording of Howard Goodall’s moving And the Bridge is Love, in which Julian Lloyd Webber plays cello, and of William Lloyd Webber’s The Moon, only performed for the first time in 2014. There are also established classics such as Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47, as well as novelties in the case of the never-before-recorded arrangements by Elgar’s friend and biographer W.H. Reed of the two Chansons.

From the late nineteenth-century British music experienced a flourishing of compositions for strings, spearheaded by the genius of Elgar. His Introduction and Allegro, Op.4 is one of the masterpieces of the genre, but smaller pieces such as the two Chansons – heard in never-before-recorded arrangements by his friend and biography W.H. Reed - distil his lyric essence and are performed by one of the world’s leading musicians, Julian Lloyd Webber. He also plays cello in the world première recording of Howard Goodall’s moving And the Bridge is Love. He has also included the poetic Moon written by his father, William, and unperformed until 2014.

Julian Lloyd Webber is one of today’s leading musicians. His many recordings include his Brit Award-winning Elgar Concerto conducted by Yehudi Menuhin (chosen as the finest ever version by BBC Music Magazine), and a coupling of Britten’s Cello Symphony and Walton’s Concerto with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martinin- the-Fields, which was described by Gramophone magazine as “beyond any rival”. This recording is Julian Lloyd Webber’s first as a conductor. His performance of Howard Goodall’s And the Bridge is Love is his final recording as a cellist.

This is a beautiful album, with an intriguing mix of the familiar and the unknown. All the signs are that the former cellist Julian Lloyd Webber could be turning into a very fine conductor indeed.“ (Classic FM)

Tracklist:

1. Introduction and Allegro, Op. 47 13:58
2. Sospiri, Op. 70 05:10
3. The Moon (version for strings) 04:31
4. And the Bridge is Love 11:40
5. Charterhouse Suite: I. Prelude 01:38

Serenade in E Minor, Op. 20
6. I. Allegro piacevole 03:37
7. II. Larghetto 05:15
8. III. Allegretto - Come prima 02:47

2 Aquarelles (arr. E. Fenby for orchestra)
9. No. 1. Lento, ma non troppo 02:10
10. No. 2. Gaily, but not quick 01:49

11. Chanson de nuit, Op. 15, No. 1 (arr. W.H. Reed for string orchestra) 04:34
12. Chanson de matin, Op. 15, No. 2 (arr. W.H. Reed for string orchestra) 03:09

Film music for Henry V: 2 Pieces for Strings
13. No. 1. Death of Falstaff 03:15
14. No. 2. Touch her soft lips and part 01:40

15. A Downland Suite: III. Minuet: Allegretto grazioso (version for string orchestra) 04:54

Personnel:
English Chamber Orchestra
Julian Lloyd Webber, cello and conductor

Recorded at Watford Colosseum, Watford, Hertfordshire, UK, from 22nd to 24th April, 2014
Engineered by Mike Hatch
Edited by Oscar Torres
Produced by Andrew Keener

Digitally remastered