Born in Slaithwaite, Yorkshire, Haydn Wood was given his unusual first name by parents inspired by Haydn’s Creation. He was raised on the Isle of Man and became one of the most successful of the ballad composers in the years around the First World War. Later, like Eric Coates, he moved on from ballad composition to become one of the prime composers of British light orchestral music. The most enduring of Wood’s ballads is ‘Roses of Picardy’, but others won almost equally huge popularity in their time. This charming example is one of the best.
from notes by Andrew Lamb © 2002
