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John Marsh - Symphonies

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Label: Chandos

Cat No: CHAN10458

Barcode: 0095115145821

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Orchestral

Release Date: 28th January 2008

Works

Marsh, John

Conversation Symphony for 2 Orchestras
Symphony no.2 in B flat major
Symphony no.6 in D major
Symphony no.7 in E flat major 'La Chasse'
Symphony no.8 in G major

Artists

London Mozart Players

Conductor

Matthias Bamert

Works

Marsh, John

Conversation Symphony for 2 Orchestras
Symphony no.2 in B flat major
Symphony no.6 in D major
Symphony no.7 in E flat major 'La Chasse'
Symphony no.8 in G major

Artists

London Mozart Players

Conductor

Matthias Bamert

About

The popular Contemporaries of Mozart series with Matthias Bamert and the London Mozart Players is one of Chandos’s longest-running projects with over 20 recordings in the catalogue. It is much praised for its high standards of musicianship and recording, as well as introducing a wealth of undeservedly neglected music to the market with several discs being selected Gramophone ‘Editor’s Choice’.

This latest instalment features the music of John Marsh, one of the most prolific composers in eighteenth century England, yet today sadly ignored. “…Marsh’s symphonies have such charm that their neglect seems inexcusable” writes Richard Gorer in Grove Music. His oeuvre spans nearly all the genres of the period and at a conservative estimate his compositions number well over 350, including 39 symphonies. This fruitful output is all the more remarkable since he was not trained as a professional musician but as a lawyer. He was also a gentleman of varied interests including campanology and astronomy, and his thirty-seven volumes of journals (now published) are among the most valuable sources of information on life and music in Eighteenth-Century England.

Marsh organised much of the music-making in the cities of Southern England where he lived, particularly the cities of Salisbury (where he met personalities such as Carl Stamitz and the violinist Wilhelm Cramer) and Chichester where he took charge of the subscription concerts virtually continuously for some forty years. The symphonies performed here represent the varied styles that Marsh utilised in writing for the musicians in the cities where he worked, revealing a composer well-versed in the requirements of the mixed professional and amateur provincial orchestras he encountered.

It was whilst in Salisbury that Marsh composed four of his nine published symphonies, now known as the ‘Salisbury Symphonies.’ Recorded here are symphonies No. 8, No. 2 and A Conversation Symphony for Two Orchestras. Symphonies No.8 and 2 receive their premiere recording with this release. These works show a clear influence of Abel and J.C Bach with a keen awareness of orchestral colour, chiefly in A Conversation Symphony which, rather than use two orchestras, separates one orchestra into two parts so as to pit high instruments against low.

Taken from the collection known as the ‘Chichester Symphonies’ are Symphonies No.7 and No.6 of which No.7 is also a premiere recording.

Characterised by their strong melodic appeal and artful scoring for wind and brass, these works compare favourably with many of his more ‘professional’ continental contemporaries and this recording is sure to increase interest in Marsh’s music.