Harold Truscott
(1914-1992)
Suite in G Major (1966)
Elegy for String Orchestra (1944)
Symphony in E Major (1949-50)
National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland/Gary Brain
Marco Polo 8.223674 60:49
Sufficiently obscure not to warrant an entry in Grove, the English composer Truscott spent much of his life as a teacher, had a very wide musical knowledge including of composers not well known even today, and wrote a number of books on music. This CD contains most of the orchestral music he left us.
His style is difficult to compare to anyone else's: you might, for example, hear the odd similarity to Hindemith or Brian, and then the music sounds briefly French. It is variously outgoing, introspective, joyous and a number of others: the brass writing is particularly effective. The superb Elegy has much in common with the Barber Adagio and is equally moving.
The Irish orchestra has recorded quite a lot of obscure music for Marco Polo and are in fine form here. Those who venture into musical byways might recognise Gary Brain as the man behind several CDs of music by Czeslaw Marek.
