Returning Decca’s pioneering recording of Façade to the catalogue, this generous collection of English music includes further gems from the Decca catalogue of orchestral pieces by Walton and two marches, by Bax and Bliss, respectively, to mark royal occasions in connection with Queen Elizabeth II. The liner notes include one written by Dame Edith Sitwell herself for the first LP issue of Façade and the cover illustration, especially commissioned for this reissue, takes its title from one of Façade’s numbers: “Something lies beyond the scene”.
WALTON
Façade – an entertainment
Edith Sitwell, Peter Pears, narrators
English Opera Group Ensemble
Anthony Collins
Siesta
Scapino – a comedy overture
Portsmouth Point = an overture
Orb and Sceptre
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult
BAX
Coronation March, 1953
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Malcolm Sargent
BLISS
Welcome the Queen
London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Arthur Bliss
Recording Producers: Peter Andry (Façade); James Walker (Siesta, Scapino, Portsmouth Point); John Culshaw (Orb and Sceptre, Bax); Christopher Whelan (Bliss)
Balance Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson (Siesta, Scapino, Portsmouth Point, Orb and Sceptre, Bax); Kenneth Wilkinson, Ken Cress (Bliss)
Recording Locations: Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, UK, July & August 1954 (Façade); Kingsway Hall, London, UK, April 1953 (Orb and Sceptre, Bax), October 1954 (Siesta, Scapino, Portsmouth Point); Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, UK, May 1957 (Bliss)
* * * ‘Astonishingly successful, clear and atmospheric … The performance [is] still the finest ever recorded … miraculously deft’ Penguin Guide
‘As for the performance, it stands above all others since … must remain a classic to the end of time’ Gramophone