Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, Douglas Bostock - Smethergell: 6 Overtures, Op. 2 (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Overture in E-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 1: I. Allegro
02. Overture in E-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 1: II. Adagio
03. Overture in E-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 1: III. Allegro assai
04. Overture in G Major, Op. 2 No. 2: I. Allegro
05. Overture in G Major, Op. 2 No. 2: II. Andante
06. Overture in G Major, Op. 2 No. 2: III. Allegro
07. Overture in B-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 3: I. Largo, staccato
08. Overture in B-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 3: II. Andante
09. Overture in B-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 3: III. Presto
10. Overture in F Major, Op. 2 No. 4: I. Allegro
11. Overture in F Major, Op. 2 No. 4: II. Andante
12. Overture in F Major, Op. 2 No. 4: III. Presto
13. Overture in D Major, Op. 2 No. 5: I. Allegro
14. Overture in D Major, Op. 2 No. 5: II. Andante
15. Overture in D Major, Op. 2 No. 5: III. Presto
16. Overture in E-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 6: I. Allegro
17. Overture in E-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 6: II. Larghetto
18. Overture in E-Flat Major, Op. 2 No. 6: III. Tempo di minuetto

William Smethergell's oeuvre presents an intriguing challenge. Since little more is known of his life than his birth date and the fact that he worked as an organist at two London churches and as a violist at the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, we must form our impression of him solely through his music. That impression is certainly favorable--at least if we go by the two sets of six overtures published as Op. 2 (1778) and Op. 5 (1780): Brilliantly scored, richly orchestrated works--ingenious, lively, and full of variety, bearing witness to Smethergell's great melodic inventiveness, was the verdict of klassik-heute on Op. 5 (CD 555 540-2), which Douglas Bostock and the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim introduced to us in 2023. The same ensemble now completes the dozen with the equally attractive Op. 2, a collection widely admired in late 18th-century London and beyond, and is now winning new friends.

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