2016 marks the 50th anniversary of composer Deems Taylor’s death (1885-1966), an opportune time to revisit his music through his previously unrecorded piece Three Century Suite. This piece, in the form of a Baroque dance suite, is delightfully accessible, full of beautiful melodies, exquisite harmonies, and marvelous orchestration...

Three Century Suite is a mini album which contains just 5 classical pieces that make up Deems Taylor's Three Century Suite (15 min, 39 sec). This work was performed once before, in Interlochen, Michigan, in 1961, conducted by A. Clyde Roller. This new recording is performed by the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra under the conductorship of Petr Vronský.

As a composer, Taylor's music remains consistently within the romantic and impressionistic style, and displays the influences of Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy. He is possibly best-known today as the narrator of Walt Disney’s 1940 animated film classic Fantasia.

Three Century Suite was composed in the late 1940’s and completed in its current form in 1950. This is the premier recording, based on a handwritten score which is located in the Deem Taylor archives at the Yale Music Library.

Whether you're a fan of the composers music, or have never heard of him, this is one album that's worth getting if you're a lover of classical music. It's a short album which you'll get hours of listening pleasure out of.

Track listing:

1 - I. Pavan
2 - II. Saraband
3 - III. Jig
4 - IV. Rigadoon
5 - V. Bartholomew Fair

10

Darren Rea