Derek B Scott (b.1950)
Orchestral Music Volume Four
Dance Suite No.2, ‘The 1960s’ (2023)
Serenade, Op.48 (2023)
Dance Suite No.1 ‘Old-Time Dances’, Op.46 (2023)
Liepāja Symphony Orchestra/Paul Mann
rec. 2024, Great Amber Concert Hall, Liepāja, Latvia
Toccata Classics TOCC0750 [71]
For those interested in Derek B Scott’s biography, and it’s well worth pursuing, I can recommend reading the three previous releases in this series (Vol. 1– Vol. 2– Vol. 3). This latest volume brings us up-to-date with three works composed in 2023, two Dance Suites surrounding an innocent-sounding Serenade that proves to have some twilit and uneasy panels amidst the sunshine.
The Dance Suite No.2 is based on popular music of the 1960s, each movement named after a dance of the time. There are six, the Boogaloo, the Mashed Potato, Frug, Watusi, Skank and Twist. Some are obviously more popular than others and I’d put my money on the Mashed Potato and Twist, but all are treated to Scott’s luminous, witty and tangy orchestrations based on melodic elements of these popular tunes. He is unusually dapper in the Boogaloo and promotes the winds charmingly in Frug whilst he gently insinuates the Watusi. The Skank sways warmly and the concluding Twist Chubby Checkers with incremental vigour to end in a blaze of glory. Throughout, Scott has recourse to the alto and tenor saxes – both players are noted in the orchestra’s personnel – and to some suitable percussion. This is the kind of suite that would go down very well at concerts of light music – music of expert orchestration, strong themes, tangy moments and the ultimate in enjoyment.
The Dance Suite No.1 is programmed to end the disc. It’s in five movements and salutes music of different, older traditions. There’s a lovely ‘English Waltz’, full of rich sentiment, and a colourful Tango, though not an Argentinean one. The Polka is followed by a slinky Slow-Drag blues. Scott is never obvious in his writing and whilst the pay-off here may be rather more conventional it still works well. The concluding Country Two-Step goes with an infectiously charming swing.
Scott’s Serenade also offers contrast, starting with a very lyrical and uplifting Romance – everything here is uplifting though never in a cheap way – and there’s a Sapphic Ode that suggests the use of Greek pitch accents, though again the dominant feel is one of profuse lyricism. The concluding Llandaff introduces the listener to more of Scott’s compositional versatility and generosity, as well as his avuncular confidence.
Just to show Scott’s commitment to the genre – as a young man in the 1960s he played in a pop band in Birmingham – the booklet cover shows him happily at ease with a collection of 7” singles.
In addition to the composer’s own booklet notes which are as direct and refreshing as ever and will aid you in your appreciation of, say, the history of the Mashed Potato and the Skank – I’m making the assumption that you’re not an aficionado – there is also a brief admiring note from a confirmed Scottophile, the conductor of this disc, Paul Mann. The recording is finely balanced and the Liepāja Symphony continues to produce hard working and lively results under Mann.
Jonathan Woolf
Buying this recording via a link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free
