ROYAL BALLET SINFONIA/BUTLER - Philip Lane: Sleighbell Serenade; Diversions on a Theme of Paganini; Cotswold Dances; Divertissement; Three Christmas Pictures - British Light Music, Vol. 15

Philip Lane has long been a stalwart of British light music and this recording provides an excellent survey of his concert works. London Salute marked the 60th anniversary of the BBC, while the lyrical and frivolous Diversions on a Theme of Paganini was originally written for brass quintet. Partly inspired by childhood memories, the Cotswold Dances reflect the composer's own part of the country, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds. Composed for clarinet soloist Verity Butler, the Divertissement quotes liberally from Lane's earlier works, the most popular of which is the Sleighbell Serenade, a piece that has been performed all over the world.