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John Gardner (1917–2011) was one of those English composers who is generally assessed as being under-rated. This latest disc from the adventurous EM Records label firmly puts the case for Gardner’s music to be reassessed and more widely heard. ‘The Ballad of the White Horse’ is a major choral work which has remained largely unheard since its first performance in 1959. It is a spectacular work, inspired by the Chesterton’s epic poem telling the story of King Alfred’s defiance of the Viking invaders in the 9th Century. As the review of the première said, it is “music that is a pleasure for [the choir] to sing and easy for an audience to appreciate. But this simplicity masks a wealth of ingenuity in invention and treatment”.
| John Gardner (1917–2011) ‘THE BALLAD OF THE WHITE HORSE’ (1958–1959) (World Première recording) |
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| 1. | ‘The White Horse’ |
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| 2. | ‘The Northmen’ |
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| 3. | ‘The vision of the king’ |
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| 4. | ‘The gathering of the chiefs’ |
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| 5. | ‘The harp of Alfred’ |
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| 6. | ‘The battle of Ethandune’ |
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| 7. | ‘The baptism of Guthrum’ |
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| 8. | ‘The scouring of the horse’ |
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| 9. | ‘AN ENGLISH BALLAD’ (World Première recording) |
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EMR CD028 | INTERNATIONAL
RECORD REVIEW