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Grace Williams: Orchestral Works
John Andrews, BBC Philharmonic
Grace Williams

2025RES-1034920th Century

Spotify Apple Music

Now this is an album that grips you from the opening bars, with a depiction of the Welsh heroine Rhiannon that is chock-full of action, drama, and romance. Castell Caernarfon adds a touch of spunky defiance to its mid-century British base, while the Sea Sketches stand proudly alongside other British masterworks about the great blue.

Robbie EllisHost

The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra centers a 20th century Welsh composer whose distinctive voice was influenced by both Vaughan Williams and the Second Viennese School. Four of Grace Williams’s orchestral gems, spanning three decades of her illustrious career, are performed on this program conducted by John Andrews.

Four Illustrations of the Legend of Rhiannon (1939) is a suite that brings the Welsh goddess to vivid life with cinematic flair. The Sea Sketches (1944), composed during the wartime tumult of London, evoke the longing for Williams’s native Barry, Glamorgan. The Ballads mark a return to Welsh mythos, with movements inspired by the emotional and cultural essence of her homeland. The regal Castell Caernarfon (1969), originally scored for the investiture of HRH Prince Charles, showcases Williams’s grandiloquent style.

Tracklist

Four Illustrations for the Legend of Rhiannon
1. The Conflict
2. The Nuptial Feast
3. The Penance
4. The Return of Pryderi

Prelude – Processional from Castell Caernarfon

Ballads
1. Allegro moderato, alla canzone
2. Alla marcia solenne
3. Andante calmante
4. Allegro furioso

Sea Sketches for String Orchestra
1. High Wind
2. Sailing Song
3 Channel Sirens
4. Breakers
5. Calm Sea in Summer

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