Cecil Armstrong Gibbs - Miniature Dance Suite, Op.124

- - - Intro: [0:00] I. March [0:05] II. Quick Minuet [2:17] III. Graceful Dance [5:38] IV. Sarabande [7:26] V. Jig [9:13] - - - Conductor: David Lloyd-Jones Orchestra: Royal Ballet Sinfonia - - - Cecil Armstrong Gibbs was a prolific and versatile English composer. Though best known for his choral music and, in particular, songs, Gibbs also devoted much of his career to the amateur choral and festival movements in Britain. Although his music is rarely played today he attained a high level of popularity in his lifetime. His slow waltz "Dusk" for orchestra and piano earned him more royalties than any of his other works combined. It was requested by Princess Elizabeth to be performed on her 18th birthday. While Gibbs exhibited musical talent early in his life, he came to composition as a relative latecomer, not officially starting a career until his thirties. Gibbs is best known for his output of songs; he also wrote a considerable amount of music for the amateur choirs that he conducted. Because of Gibbs's association with the amateur musicians, some have dismissed Gibbs's work as being "lightweight and even trivial".