Palm Court Orchestra
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CD reviews
Happy Frog and Hot Canary
Date:
13/05/2011
Reviewed by John Sheppard of Musicweb-international
The Aspidistra Drawing Room Orchestra as heard on this disc consists of a string quartet, flute, oboe and piano, together with a soprano, joined in song sometimes by Liz Menezes, one of the violinists. They were formed some 25 years ago and, as their name suggests, specialize in salon repertoire. They have made three other discs previously but this is the first I have heard. |
Happy Frog and Hot Canary
Date:
01/03/2011
Reviewed In the Light Music Society Magazine Issue 51, Spring 2011
This CD contains music that Aspidistra have particularly enjoyed playing over the last three years, with emphasis on works that are rarely recorded, two of them being The Happy Frog and The Hot Canary. |
Casino Dances
Date:
01/06/2007
Two reviews published in the Newsletter of the Light Music Society, Summer 2007
… The seven-piece Aspidistra Drawing Room Orchestra, comprising two violins, viola, cello, flute, oboe and piano, has previously issued CDs in 1998 and 2003. This third essay is equally acceptable in its re-creation of the sound of the salon orchestra, once so popular, and offers a novelty in the shape of three vocal numbers most attractively sung by soprano Elizabeth Menezes, one of the violinists in the orchestra and with considerable singing experience in operetta, musicals and opera. |
Robert Farnon Society
Date:
01/12/2005
TWO CDs BY THE ASPIDISTRA DRAWING ROOM ORCHESTRA
Two splendid discs from one of the few remaining ‘Palm Court’ ensembles, including a selection of light-classical and lighter music in finely balanced chamber arrangements. The orchestra consists of piano, three violins, viola, cello, flute and oboe/cor anglais, producing an ambience perfect for the atmosphere of Imperial tea-time elegance. Personally I miss a little brass, percussion and a bass (the piano struggles on its own), and yet this is part of the ensemble’s unobtrusive quality. The playing is sensitive and the melodies beautiful. |
