For their third installment of orchestral works by Ruth Gipps, Rumon Gamba and the BBC Philharmonic center the 20th century composer’s Symphony No. 1 and Horn Concerto with soloist Martin Owen. Dated September 1942, the First Symphony is a direct reflection of the horrors of war. The work demonstrates Gipps’s personal voice and features some wonderful writing for winds. Gipps wrote the Horn Concerto in 1968 for her son, Lance Baker. The piece was later championed by the English virtuoso hornist Frank Lloyd, who gave a BBC broadcast in 1982. The program is complimented by three short works: Ambarvalia, a memorial tribute to the composer and colleague Adrian Cruft; Cringlemire Garden, a pastoral miniature for string orchestra; and the Coronation Procession depicting the journey of the Crown(s) entering Westminster Abbey.
All works, save for Ambarvalia, are new to the WFMT library, with the Symphony and Coronation Procession receiving their premiere recordings.