Gipps: Orchestral Works Vol. 3

For this third installment in Ruth Gipps's series of orchestral works, Rumon Gamba, conducting the BBC Philharmonic, is joined by horn player Martin Owen. The album begins with Gipps's "Coronation Procession". The piece depicts the journey of the crown(s), perhaps from the perspective of the royal carriage, ending at Westminster Abbey. Written in January 1953, the piece was not used at the coronation, but was instead performed for the first time in September 1954 in Melbourne, Australia. "Ambarvalia" is a memorial tribute by Gipps from 1988 to the composer and colleague Adrian Cruft, who died in February 1987. Gipps wrote the horn concerto in 1968 for her son Lance Baker. The piece was later made famous by Frank Lloyd, who introduced it in a BBC broadcast in 1982. Here, the virtuoso Martin Owen brings the work to life in a thrilling way. The Lake District was the inspiration for the impression "Cringlemire Garden", a pastoral miniature for string orchestra. The First Symphony from September 1942 is a direct echo of the horrors of war. The work showcases Gipps's personal touch and contains some wonderful passages for wind instruments.