Worcester’s Emeritus Professor of Composition has released a new recording of two recent major works with the English Symphony Orchestra and English String Orchestra.

Conducted by Kenneth Woods, the ensembles perform Professor Saxton’s Scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh (2022) – part of the ESO’s 21st Century Symphony Project – and The Resurrection of the Soldiers (2016).

The first piece, described as a ‘haunting work’ by Gramophone, takes inspiration from the oldest written literary text in Middle Eastern/Western cultural history. Predating the Hebrew Bible, the epic relates the story of King Gilgamesh – part divine, part human – who may have existed historically circa 2800 BCE. From immature youth and a belief in his immortality, the king eventually comes to accept the power and reality of death.

The second piece was commissioned by George Vass (to whom it is dedicated) and the English Symphony Orchestra for the 2016 Presteigne Festival. The title – The Resurrection of the Soldiers – derives from the final panel of Stanley Spencer’s visionary series of paintings for Sandham Memorial Chapel which were the result of Spencer’s experiences in the British Army during the First World War.

Writing in Gramophone this month, Guy Rickards said ‘The Resurrection of the Soldiers is a searing, intense work […] that should by rights take its place among the finest English works for string orchestra. Yet another thoroughly gripping, intriguing album, strongly recommended.’

Listen to the album below via Spotify or visit the Nimbus website to purchase the CD and listen to sample tracks.

Background image: Tablet V of the Epic of Gilgamesh in the Slemani Museum by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin. CC BY-SA 4.0 (film grain effect added).

Shop & sample tracks from Nimbus