Constant Lambert (1905-1951) is in several respects a remarkable figure among the British composers of this century. He studied in London at the Royal College of Music and already caused such a furore with his ballet music during his studies that he was quickly regarded as one of the most promising British composers of his time. Nevertheless, Lambert was later surpassed in fame by contemporaries
… such as Bliss and especially Walton and his name is hardly known outside of England. This is partly due to the fact that Lambert focused less on composing than them exclusively; he quickly made a name for himself as a conductor, but he was also a gifted literator. In addition, Lambert was so interested in 'light' music, especially jazz, that in many eyes he could not be considered a 'serious' composer. How wrong this was, is evident from this recording by the English Northern Philharmonia conducted by David Lloyd-Jones, on which two of Lambert's ballets are recorded. Ballet music was Lambert's genre of choice, possibly because it required concentration on short, precisely measured pieces; a form that was again well combined with Lambert's favorite examples, namely the music of Satie and the 'Groupe de Six'. The ballet "Pomona" recorded here dates from 1927 and was already Lambert's sixth ballet score. The piece consists of eight parts, all cast in the form of neo-classical dances. This is followed by Lambert's last work, the ballet "Tiresias" from 1950/51, which takes almost an hour to complete. When listening to it, it appears that Lambert had not lost any of the sharpness of his earlier ballets at a later age, making this CD a good plea for his revaluation. (JvG) _more
