REVIEW: High Heels

Iain Sutherland Concert Orchestra

ALC 1492

Recorded during the 1980s, this issue is the result of extensive remastering by Paul Arden-Taylor and hats off to him for presenting us with a CD that sounds like it could truly have been recorded yesterday. 

Despite the Trevor Duncan title track, which opens the disc, the rest of the music celebrates mainly 4 composers: Robert Farnon, Leroy Anderson, David Rose and Peter Hope. Anderson and Hope have a suite each, both actually Irish themed. Anderson’s Irish Suite is essentially a suite of folk tune arrangements, most famously The Rakes of Mallow and The Last Rose of Summer. Sutherland and his orchestra bring flair and style to the work (particularly showcasing the winds in the work), though the work itself, whilst undeniably, a lot of fun, is maybe not top-drawer Anderson compared to his expertly crafted miniatures. Peter Hope’s Ring of Kerry suite is rightly regarded as a classic of British Light Music, though it is a slight shame that Jaunting Car, the first movement seems more regularly played than the other two: Lough-Leane and Killorgin Fair. Fortunately we have all three here, meaning we can see how beautifully shaped the work is as a whole. Sutherland and his orchestra give a most sensitive rendering of the suite, with its memorable themes referencing Irish folk songs, coupled with its wistful romantic moods. 

The British-American composer David Rose, famed for The Stripper, here has two numbers, both holiday related: Holiday for Strings and Holiday for Trombones, which despite their titles offer very little respite for their supposed holiday makers! The trombone section in the latter excel themselves, while the string section’s crisp pizzicato (as heard in the opening number also) is pure ear candy!

Canadian-British composer Robert Farnon is not represented here by a suite, but rather a series of shorter works (Melody Fair, Jumping Bean and Derby Day being perhaps the best known), rounded off with a far more substantial tone poem A la Claire Fontaine (one of a diptych of two such works that also includes Lake of the Woods), a true favourite of Farnon’s works for me. The recording particularly highlight Farnon’s gift for countermelody and interwoven fragments that are so skilfully built, growing toward the stunning climax in this powerful performance. 

However, we also have an additional two pieces from Maestro Iain Sutherland himself. The first: an arrangement Sabor Flamenco, sure to get passions high with its rousing Spanish rhythms and fiery brass instrumentation, while the second, an original composition Mambo d’Amore conjures suaveness and romance in spades, with perhaps a couple of nods to Mantovani’s string writing along the way. One could imagine them being stunningly effective in films as well as on one’s radio of an evening. 

The disc is rounded off with first the giddy bubbles of Pink Champagne arranged by Wally Stott (later Angela Morley) and the more stately affair of Peter Yorke’s Sapphires and Sables. The performances are exemplary and the programme well chosen and balanced. As is often the case with Alto releases, the volume levels are quite generous, so do watch out a little if using headphones, but the plus side is the opportunity to revel in the rich textures of this hugely entertaining collection!

DA