With a complete edition of Leroy Anderson’s orchestral music in progress, one might wonder why Eric Coates has not been accorded the same accolade. As it is, with three previous Coates CDs to his name, John Wilson is doing well by the composer, paying particularly valuable attention to less frequently played works.

The marches, of which there are four, come off with an especially refreshing élan. I’m enchanted, too, with Moresque, a piece not recorded for more than 60 years, and sounding – even with one theme curiously like “Vilja” from The Merry Widow – authentically Moorish in this full-blooded performance. The inclusion of two rare suites is another plus. Four Ways has more conviction than a Slovak Radio Orchestra version (Marco Polo), and the early From the Countryside, showing Coates finding his way orchestrally, is here recorded complete for the first time.

I’m less convinced by the song settings in the composer’s orchestrations. Richard Edgar-Wilson’s voice seems to have acquired a raw edge since he recorded a CD of Coates songs with piano accompaniment for Marco Polo (4/96 – nla), and I’m inclined to prefer the Mill o’ Dreams cycle in that earlier recording. Perhaps it’s difficult to balance Coates’s vocal lines against his lush orchestrations, since even with Thomas Allen’s contributions some doubts remain. Still, Coates writes beautifully for the voice, and this collection makes valuable progress towards that imagined Coates complete edition.