Horoscope

The Wise Virgins – complete ballet (1940) by William WALTON (1902-1983) after J.S. BACH (1685-1750) arranged by Philip LANE (b.1950) ; Horoscope – complete ballet (1938) by Constant LAMBERT (1905-1951). Both these ballets from a vintage period of the Sadler's Wells ballet company at the beginning of the second world war, have till now appeared on disc only in truncated form as orchestral suites. William Walton's ballet, the Wise Virgins, using movements from Bach cantatas, was quickly dropped in the theatre, with the score of three of the movements lost or destroyed. Philip Lane has now reorchestrated those, using the original Bach scores, in a style near enough to Walton's. Similarly, Constant Lambert's Horoscope, a colourful piece on an astrological theme, here appears for the first time with four extra items.