Clare Hammond, New Music Players, Orchestra of Sound and Light, Richard Casey

This DVD presents the marvellous music by Ed Hughes for silent films (both new and old). His scores for the early classics for chamber ensemble (Alice in Wonderland and Voyage to the Moon) and piano (The Nose) are matched by his orchestral masterpiece for the new cityscape feature ‘Brighton: Symphony of a City’, by producer/director Lizzie Thynne. Rounded off by another piano score, ‘Night Music’, written for the RAF Archive film about the building of Lancaster bombers, but a work which stands on its own just as well. The DVD also includes a bonus, a vintage documentary film about the Lancaster and its work in World War II.

Ed Hughes is a master of large scale works and these movie scores are a little more traditionally styled than his chamber and operatic work but whichever genre is chosen, his reputation as a highly inventive and skilled composer grows steadily.

THE SOUND TRACK for this DVD (excluding ‘Sky Giant’) is available as a digital-only album (with PDF booklet) as ZME 50801.

Total Playing Time: 109:44