Brian Asawa: The Complete RCA Recordings

The English Pastoral School is an early 20th‑century current in British classical music that evokes the landscapes, folk traditions, and choral heritage of England. Its sound is lyrical, modal, and often deliberately diatonic, favoring transparent textures and long, singing lines over dense chromaticism. Composers in this movement frequently drew on English folk songs and hymnody, and rediscovered techniques from Tudor and Renaissance polyphony. Orchestration tends to feature warm strings, solo woodwinds (especially oboe and cor anglais), horn choirs, and harp, with choral and organ writing closely allied to Anglican liturgy. The mood ranges from serenely bucolic to elegiac, reflecting both an idealized countryside and the losses of the First World War.

A concerto grosso is a Baroque-era orchestral form built on contrasts between a small group of soloists (the concertino) and the full ensemble (the ripieno or tutti). It typically features strings with basso continuo, terraced dynamics, antiphonal dialogue, and clear tonal harmony. Two principal subtypes emerged: the church-oriented sonata da chiesa (often in a four-movement slow–fast–slow–fast plan) and the dance-inflected sonata da camera (suite-like movements). The genre highlights thematic exchange, sequences, and imitation, with the concertino—often two violins and cello—embroidered against broader tutti refrains. Corelli’s models codified its syntax, and Handel’s sets represent its late-Baroque culmination.

Baroque is a period and style of Western art music spanning roughly 1600–1750. It is characterized by the birth of functional tonality, the widespread use of basso continuo (figured bass), and a love of contrast—between soloist and ensemble, loud and soft, and different timbres. Hallmark genres and forms of the era include opera, cantata, oratorio, concerto (especially the concerto grosso), dance suite, sonata, and fugue. Textures range from expressive monody to intricate counterpoint, and melodies are richly ornamented with trills, mordents, and appoggiaturas. Baroque music flourished in churches, courts, and theaters across Europe, with regional styles (Italian, French, German, English) shaping distinctive approaches to rhythm, dance, harmony, and ornamentation.