A remarkably prolific composer in his final decades, Havergal Brian wrote his Symphonies No. 22, No. 23, No. 24 between 1964 and 1965, when he was in his late eighties. These are short, dense works, packed with motivically driven themes, rough-hewn harmonies, and austere counterpoint, all squeezed into single- or double-movement forms lasting less than 20 minutes. Indeed, the Symphony No. 22 is subtitled "Symphonia brevis" because it is just over nine minutes long and extremely direct in its musical discourse. The Symphony ...
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A remarkably prolific composer in his final decades, Havergal Brian wrote his Symphonies No. 22, No. 23, No. 24 between 1964 and 1965, when he was in his late eighties. These are short, dense works, packed with motivically driven themes, rough-hewn harmonies, and austere counterpoint, all squeezed into single- or double-movement forms lasting less than 20 minutes. Indeed, the Symphony No. 22 is subtitled "Symphonia brevis" because it is just over nine minutes long and extremely direct in its musical discourse. The Symphony No. 23 is timed at 13:44, and at 16:29, the Symphony No. 24 in D major is the longest of the three. These works are taut essays in the British symphonic style of the mid-20th century, ultimately positive in their thrust, though their enigmatic character reflects the uncertainties of the time. Not so with the English Suite No. 1, a post-Romantic concert work from 1905-1906 that is full of optimism and elegance, in keeping with the closing years of the Belle Époque. Alexander Walker...
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![Brian: Symphonies No. 22-24 [English Suite No. 1] [Alexander Walker] [Naxos: 8.572833]](https://www2.alibris-static.com/cover/n67626og6x4_t.jpg)
