The three works contained in this album were all written around 1880, at the height of romantic nationalism in music, when Europe’s greatest composers sought their inspiration in their racial heritage. The ‘Bohemian Dance Suite’ comprises three characteristic pieces originally composed for piano by Bedrich Smetana, the father of Czech national music. The orchestration, which gives full expression to Smetana’s colorful writing, is the work of the American composer Harold Byrns. Each piece has a descriptive title. The first, called The Merry Chicken Yard, is a polka, a highly artistic yet amusing elaboration of a rustic dance in which barnyard effects are suggested by different instrumental groups. This is followed by The Little Onion, where Slavic coloration and the stately, graceful rhythm of the minuet are captivatingly blended. The Suite ends with Circus, a breathless galop strongly reminiscent of Smetana’s ever popular Dance Of The Comedians in its jollity and exuberance. The Polonaise is one of the best k