Alun Hoddinott - Symphony No.6; Orchestral Works

Alun Hoddinott

Symphony No.6 and other Orchestral Works

BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra

Bryden Thomson

Alun Hoddinott's musical language, as demonstrated by this Chandos collection, is to my ear not immediately indebted to any european exemplar. I can't say there's anything that strikes me as intrinsically Welsh though. The music has the strength, the credibility to demand a place in the international repetoire.

I suppose if I were forced to bracket this with any others, it would be part of a gathering that included Honegger, Hindemith, maybe Alwyn and Tippett. The music is lyrical but somewhat austere, serious-minded, grand but not excessive in any department. The flower songs are luscious, richly perfumed; the symphony majestic, the wonderful Lanterne des morts sublime.

A superb recording.