For listeners used to hearing only Sir Edward Elgar’s big orchestral works—the First and Second Symphonies, the Pomp and Circumstance marches, the Enigma Variations, and the like—these orchestral miniatures might come as a delightful surprise. They may be short, but they are really quite sweet and enchanting.

James Judd has always been a most understanding Elgarian, and here he conducts an attractive selection of shorter pieces as well as the early overture Froissart, all in understanding performances. The miniatures, at which Elgar was such a dab hand, are presented delightfully and with much affection, while Froissart is ripely passionate. First-rate sound.

It’s a stretch to call everything on this disc a “miniature”. Froissart is, after all, quite substantial, and the Three Bavarian Dances are scored for large orchestra; but the other works fit the bill, and I’m certainly not complaining about having the extra music. Indeed, the former has all of the necessary swagger that Elgar built into it, while the dances are such attractive pieces that it’s a wonder they’re not better known. As for the remainder, the Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra is particularly charming, and very well played, while it was very smart of James Judd to sandwich the Minuet Op. 21 among the Three Characteristic Pieces Op. 10. Like most great composers Elgar was a very skillful miniaturist. His style was personal enough so as to be instantly recognizable, even in his salon music, and I suspect that this attractive and well-recorded disc will fill a gap in many record collections.