Arthur Bliss

Bliss: The Decca Originals: a new collection of Decca recordings of Blisss music, including tracks previously unreleased on Decca CD as well as the complete version of the Violin Concerto with Alfredo Campoli. The career of Arthur Bliss was launched in London in the 1920s with provocative ensemble pieces such as Rout, but it was established by the Colour Symphony which Sir Edward Elgar invited him to write for the Three Choirs Festival. Bliss gradually became an establishment figure, appointed Master of the Queens Music in 1953 and a fluent maker of music celebrating Englishness (such as Welcome the Queen, 1954) at a time when notions of national identity were coming under scrutiny as never before.

Two very different takes on the romantic piano concerto, both equally successful. The Bliss—written in 1939 for the World’s Fair in New York—is extrovert, exuberant and virtuosic, the Rubbra a profound reflection on, and continuation of, the English pastoral tradition.

Sir Arthur Bliss contributed two staples of the brass band repertoire - Kenilworth and The Belmont Variations, the enduring success of which inspired arrangers to turn to his other compositions, such as Eric Ball’s Four Dances from the ballet Checkmate and Phillip Littlemore’s suite from the film score for Things to Come.

Sir Arthur Bliss contributed two staples of the brass band repertoire - Kenilworth and The Belmont Variations, the enduring success of which inspired arrangers to turn to his other compositions, such as Eric Ball’s Four Dances from the ballet Checkmate and Phillip Littlemore’s suite from the film score for Things to Come.