Holmboe the concerto writer had a very different agenda from Holmboe the symphonist, and nowhere does that become more apparent than in Chamber Concerto No 8 (1945), subtitled Sinfoniaconcertante, a splendid work that's a direct precursor of the magnificent First Chamber Symphony (1953). Owain Arwel Hughes underscores the music's internal cohesion and plays down the Hindemithian overtones. No 10 (1945-6) is a bracing early example of Holmboe's metamorphosis technique, its nine sections acting like variations within a traditional concerto format: the sections in pairs respectively form an introduction and three 'movements', with the last acting as coda.
Holmboe devotees will be particularly keen on the other two works, both novelties. The Cheerful and Severe Concerto is a single (12- minute) movement, though like the Tenth, divided into sections; here, though, they are compressed to form a compellingly fluent design in the composer's late, luminous style.
More fascinating still is the suite, made (with some recomposition) in 1969 from the music of the still-unperformed ballet Den GalsindedeTyrk (1942-4). The opening 'Dance of the Executioner' has echoes of the contemporaneous Fifth Symphony, while later movements – for instance, the central 'Dance of the Trees' – point towards the Sixth and Seventh (1947-50).
But the music also seems eminently danceable, making its neglect all the more astonishing.
Heartily recommended.