The works of the British composer William Alwyn, whose centenary falls this year, include five symphonies, concertos, operas and more than two hundred film scores. Like his contemporary Samuel Barber, Alwyn was an unashamed Romantic who preferred his music to appeal to the heart rather than to the head. This first disc in a new series of Alwyn’s complete symphonies includes his Symphony No. 2, an innovative yet accessible work which alternates passages of quiet ecstasy and tumultuous energy. Symphony No. 5 has an epic sweep which belies its short duration of a quarter of an hour. Alwyn’s pastoral harp concerto, Lyra Angelica, interweaves the harp and strings into “a continuous web of luminous sound”.