Silent Noon: Songs of Ralph Vaughan Williams

On this CD:

1. The House of Life, song cycle for voice & piano Love Sight
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

2. The House of Life, song cycle for voice & piano Silent Noon
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

3. The House of Life, song cycle for voice & piano Love's Last Gift
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

4. Last Songs (4) for voice & piano Procris
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

5. Last Songs (4) for voice & piano Tired
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

6. Last Songs (4) for voice & piano Hands, Eyes and Heart
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

7. Last Songs (4) for voice & piano Menelaus
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

8. Linden Lea, song for voice & orchestra ("In Linden Lea;" "A Dorset Song")
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

9. The Sky above the Roof, song for voice & piano
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

10. Dreamland ("Where sunless rivers weep"), song for voice & piano
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

11. Claribel ("Where Claribel low-lieth"), song for voice & piano
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

12. If I Were a Queen, song for voice & piano
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

13. Poems by Fredegond Shove (4), for voice & piano Motion and Stillness
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

14. Poems by Fredegond Shove (4), for voice & piano Four Nights
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

15. Poems by Fredegond Shove (4), for voice & piano The New Ghost
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

16. Poems by Fredegond Shove (4), for voice & piano The Water Mill
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Ruth Golden

17. Adieu, folk song for soprano, baritone, & piano
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Thomas Woodman

18. Think of Me, folk song for soprano, baritone & piano
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Thomas Woodman

19. Along the Field, song cycle for voice & violin We'll to the Woods No More
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Nancy Bean, Ruth Golden

20. Along the Field, song cycle for voice & violin Along the Field
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Nancy Bean, Ruth Golden

21. Along the Field, song cycle for voice & violin The Half-Moon Westers Low
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Nancy Bean, Ruth Golden

22. Along the Field, song cycle for voice & violin In the Morning
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Nancy Bean, Ruth Golden

23. Along the Field, song cycle for voice & violin The Sigh that Heaves the Grasses
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Nancy Bean, Ruth Golden

24. Along the Field, song cycle for voice & violin Goodbye
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Nancy Bean, Ruth Golden

25. Along the Field, song cycle for voice & violin Fancy's Knell
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Nancy Bean, Ruth Golden

26. Along the Field, song cycle for voice & violin With Rue My Heart is Laden
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Performed by Nancy Bean, Ruth Golden

Tracks:

Overture: The Poisoned Kiss
Two Hymn - Tune Preludes: Eventide
Two Hymn-Tune Preludes: Dominus Regeit me
The Running Set
Flos campi: I Lento (senza misura)
Flos campi: II Andante con moto
Flos campi: III Lento (senza misura) - Allegro moderato - Allargando
Flos campi: IV Moderato alla marcia
Flos campi: V Andante quasi lento
Flos campi: VI Moderato tranqillo
Suite For Viola And Orchestra: Group 1: Prelude
Suite For Viola And Orchestra: Group 1: Carol
Suite For Viola And Orchestra: Group 1: Christmas Dance
Suite For Viola And Orchestra: Group 2: Ballad
Suite For Viola And Orchestra: Group 2: Moto perpetuo
Suite For Viola And Orchestra: Group 3: Musette
Suite For Viola And Orchestra: Group 3: Polka mncholique
Suite For Viola And Orchestra: Group 3: Galop
Sea Songs

Tracks:

Overture: The Wasps
The House Of Life: 1 Love-Sight
The House Of Life: 2 Silent Noon
The House Of Life: 3 Heart's Heaven
Six Studies In English Folksong: 1 Adagio
Six Studies In English Folksong: 2 Andante sostenuto
Six Studies In English Folksong: 3 Larghetto
Six Studies In English Folksong: 4 Lento
Six Studies In English Folksong: 5 Andante tranquillo
Six Studies In English Folksong: 6 Allegro vivace
Romance
Linden Lea
Fantasia On Greensleeves
Serenade To Music

Customer Reviews:

A fine collection, well recorded, & a bargain, to boot!.......2005-10-08

This collection of pieces is a real treat for RVW fans. The recordings of Flos campi (surely one of RVW's most unusual and mystical works, somehow managing to capture the elusive emotional/spiritual environment of the Song of Solomon) and the Suite for Viola and Orchestra (rarely recorded, but a delectable mixing of folk-song, Bach, Bartok-like passages, and rich, resonant melodies redolent of autumn) would be enough in themselves. Couple them with the Six Studies in English Folksong for clarinet & piano (a rare piece of Vaughn Williams chamber music) and the ravishing instrumental version of Serenade to Music, and you have a truly admirable set. This is an assemblage of a number of earlier recordings: in this case, I think, the cream has been skimmed and put into one convenient two-disc collection. The recorded sound is good throughout, and the notes well-written and interesting - an excellent Chandos release.

Perfect and otherworldly.......2003-10-06

I am a rock musician but I must say that there is little other music on this green earth that is as gorgeous as that of Vaughan Williams. Some folk and country airs can touch the melancholy that VW can, some of Bach's or Ravel's pieces maybe. But when I hear music like Flos Campi 2nd and 6th movements, or the beautiful short pieces that comprise Six Studies in English Folk Song ... well, they leave me breathless. Parts of Flos Campi sounds like VW has distilled all the tinsel and magic, childlike wonder and true peace of something as hard to define as Christmas and made it into music. Serenade to Music in it's pure orchestral form still remains a glorius composition, even without the vocalists. My, when it hits that early theme in the latter part with full force and orchestra ... And the lovely Linden Lea and that wonderful Suite ... Almost too much. I sometimes program this and some of his major works, such as Tallis, Dives and Lazarus and The Lark Ascending (when I have some time to spare!): it's a big 'wow' factor. VW's music is unashamedly beautiful, capturing the sweetest folk elements and conjuring up the spirit of the wildest and most remote parts of Britain (in my head at least). This music is something else and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Baker Sings Gluck, Lully, Marcello, etc.

Average customer rating:

Baker Sings Gluck, Lully, Marcello, etc.

Manufacturer: BBC Legends
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Philips and Decca Recordings, 1961-1979 (Limited Edition)

ASIN: B00008OP2A
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Tracks:

O Del Mio Dolce Ardor
Bois Epais
Il Mio Bel Foco - Quella Fiamma Che M'accende
Lauds (Among The Leaves)
O Lurcher-Loving Collier
What's In Your Mind, My Dove
Eyes Look Into The Well
Carry Her Over The Water
Come Away, Come Away, Death
Who Is Sylvia?
Fear No More The Heat Of The Sun
O Mistress Mine
It Was A Lover And His Lass
Let Beauty Awake
Tired
Silent Noon
Linden Lea
The Sally Gardens
O Can Ye Sew Cushions?
O Waly, Waly
Come You Not From Newcastle?
Sleep, Adam, Sleep And Take Thy Rest
Lord, What Is A Man
Sleep
Pretty Ring Time
Rest, Sweet Nymphs
The Jolly Sheperd

Average customer rating:

THE SORT OF MUSIC THAT BOSTRIDGE'S VOICE WAS MADE FOR
Artistry beyond measure
Perfectly Enjoyable
Do Not Be Deceived By His Look Of Innocence
One of the best English-Song CD's available

Ian Bostridge - The English Songbook

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Ian Bostridge - Songs of Faure, Debussy & Poulenc
Ian Bostridge - Schubert Lieder, Volume II
Ian Bostridge - J.S. Bach: Cantatas & Arias / Biondi, Europa Galante
Ian Bostridge - Schubert Lieder, Volume I
Ian Bostridge - Liederkreis Op. 24, Dichterliebe Op. 48 & 7 Lieder

ASIN: B00002CF0T
Release Date: 1999-11-02

Tracks:

La Belle Bame sans Merci
Sleep
I Will Go With My Father A-Ploughing
The Cloths of Heaven
To Gratiana Dancing and Singing
To Lucasta, On Going To The Wars
Twilight Fancies
Orpheus With His Lute
Jillian of Berry
Cradle Song
The Dance Continued
Linden Lea
Silent Noon
My Love's An Arbutus
The Death of Queen Jane
No Longer Mourn For Me
Since We Loved
The Sally Gardens
Rest, Sweet Nymphs
Come Away, Death
Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal
Bold William Taylor
Brigg Fair
The Little Turtle Dove

Customer Reviews:

THE SORT OF MUSIC THAT BOSTRIDGE'S VOICE WAS MADE FOR.......2002-10-09

Ian Bostridge has one of the most beautiful voices on record, and he has consistently shown courage and wisdom in selecting material that will extend and develop his gifts. Not all of this material has been a perfect match for his young and soaring tenor voice, notably some of Schubert's more dramatic "lieder". In contrast, nothing could be more perfectly suited to his voice than this generous and beautiful collection of traditional English poetic settings by Britten, Finzi, Grainger, Warlock and others.

Bostridge brings more than just a beautiful tone and a subtle musical phrasing to these songs. The challenge any intepreter of English songs has to face is that, in contrast with the pure syllables of most continental languages, the complex vowels of "Southern British English" are formidably difficult to render attractively in song. It's not just a question of singing them prettily. Think how accurately the pronunciation of a word like "house" or "bath" can betray someone's geographical and social background; our vowels are a caste-mark as well as a means of communication. But somehow Bostridge himself, in his fruitful partnership with Julius Drake, manages to transcend our socio-linguistic divisions and deliver these songs in a way that places no barrier between the listener and the music.

The material is wonderful in its own right - a collection of lilting pastoral airs and occasional boisterous ditties. They are at one and the same time ancient and modern, embracing at once the mutual cross-fertilisation between classical and "pop" sensibilities that has always underpinned the best of English music. Even the most trivial of these songs (e.g. "Jillian of Berry") are memorable, and some of them (notably Sir Charles Stanford's chilling musical setting of the Keats' poem, "La Belle Dame Sans Merci") would not have been beneath Schubert himself.

It has been fashionable over the generations to belittle British classic music. "The land without song" England was dubbed, as the sleeve notes poignantly remind us. This CD is a healthy reminder that the global success of English popular music in the latter four decades of the 20th century did not appear out of nowhere; it was built on a solid foundation of past accomplishment that it was for too long fashionable to dismiss. Highly recommended.

Artistry beyond measure.......2002-09-20

This disk is a wonderful treasure. "To Gratiana Dancing and Singing" is an exquisite song that you should not go another day without hearing. I am speaking literally.

Mr. Bostridge's interpretation of Browne's song is amazingly compelling. His ability to express goes beyond that of most other singers - even some great ones. He notes the problems in singing in English (the "extra" vowels, the English vs. German approach to word painting, etc.) and I have to say he triumphs on this disk.

As he also notes, this is NOT a recording of a recital program nor are the songs "English" in nationality - the songs are just set to texts in the English language. I had not heard of some of these composers, but I am enthusiastic in saying that every song on this disk has something very nice to recommend it - at least at the voice and hands of Ian Bostridge and Julian Drake.

I must say a few words about Mr. Drake's playing. Overall he is simply incredible. He has a beauty of tone and a singing style that is not in anyway mere accompaniment. It really isn't even a partnership. It is a unity of artistry that creates this single entity, a song. There aren't many that can pull this off and Mr. Drake should be treasured for this ability. Just amazing artistry.

Please get every disk that Mr. Bostridge and Mr. Drake have done together. You will thank me for recommending this if you didn't know this already. Feel free to email me with your thoughts on this disk or any comments you have about Bostridge and Drake.

Perfectly Enjoyable.......2002-02-09

I already liked Ian Bostridge, but I thought "English songs" would be rather light and without substance. But I have fallen in love with this CD and never tire of it! I was already an admirer of Vaughan Williams, Britten, Finzi, Warlock and Delius, and I'm glad for this introduction to other composers as well. Also, much beautiful poetry is chosen, from Shakespeare, Yeats, Rossetti, Keats, and others, and each is treated with careful consideration by the composer, *partnering* music with poetry rather than simply enhancing or overshadowing the lyric. Bostridge seems to have the perfect voice for this music, light and charming when appropriate, heart-breaking at other times, always an engaging storyteller. He obviously understands intimately each word and note that he sings. The listener can hear his facial expressions and body language! The English Songbook is a beautiful collection of excellent craftsmanship, and one of the best CDs I have.

Do Not Be Deceived By His Look Of Innocence.......2001-10-14

Just look at Ian on the cover photo of this CD. He's sitting there looking coy, playing with his finger, hair a little mussed, with a very cute boyish smile, as if to say, "I didn't do anything wrong mommy, honest." Well he has done it this time.

This CD was my first exposure to Ian Bostridge. I bought it because I was very surprised to know that one of my favorite poems, the Cloths of Heaven by Yeats, was set to music. I spent 17 bucks for one song, and ended up cashing in on 23 others.

To Gratiana Dancing and Singing quickly became a favorite, as did Bold William Taylor. This last one was my first realization of Ian's gift of storytelling. Somehow he is able to make his voice sound like a woman, namely Sally Gray, and the narrator, and the macho Captain, all in the same song. The multiple personalities come out to play similarly in The Death of Queen Jane. I am lulled into quiet reflection and relaxation when Ian sings the Cradle Song.

Check out his CDs of Schubert Lieder, also accompanied by Julius Drake. Ian may be even more at home in German than he is in his native English! Julius is at home with Schubert, especially the water songs, and we are at home listening to this wonderfully weird, warm voice paired with masterful piano playing.

One of the best English-Song CD's available.......2001-09-12

Unlike the reviewer "A music fan from California, USA" I realize that this is not a recital program of music (as even noted in the liner). This is though, an unequaled collection of some of the most beautiful English Songs ever. Ian is on top of his game and J Drake plays, well, I don't have the words. He never fails to impress with his skills. Each key under each finger sings! Back to Ian. As a professional tenor, I am in awe of his voice. It is tender, moving, all the things you want in a good recitalist, and (unlike any of the opera tenors I can think of) it is note perfect. Yes, there are times when his voice seems a little light for the song he may be performing, but it is passionate and caries the pathos of each note/word he sings. BUY THIS CD - you will love it for ever!

Average customer rating:

A century of British art songs to delight those who love them

English Song

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

A Treasury of English Song
Favorite English Songs
Songs by Roger Quilter
Silent Noon
Bryn Terfel - The Vagabond & other songs by Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, Finzi & Ireland

ASIN: B0002JEG6I
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

A Soft Day - Bernadette Greevy
Irish Skies - Bernadette Greevy
Cherry Ripe - Janice Watson
Mustard And Cress - Neal Davies
The Lily Of A Day - Janice Watson
Henry King - Neal Davies
Fain Would I Change That Note - Graham Johnson
In Summer-Time On Bredon - Christopher Maltman
The Lads In Their Hundreds - Christopher Maltman
Among The Rocks - Graham Johnson
It Was A Lover And His Lass - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
The Water Mill - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
On Wenlock Edge - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
The Call - Graham Johnson
Silent Noon - Graham Johnson
Now In These Fairylands - Philip Langridge
The Dream-City - Philip Langridge
Margrete's Cradle Song - Susan Gritton
The Heart Worships - Christopher Maltman
Take, O Those Lips Away - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal - Graham Johnson
Love Calls Through The Summer Night - Anthony Rolfe Johnson
I Will Go With My Father A-Ploughing - Graham Johnson
The Rio Grande (Capstan Shanty) - Ian Partridge
Theodore, Or The Pirate King - Ian Partridge
A Long Time Ago (Hilliard's Shanty) - Ian Partridge
Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be? - Bernadette Greevy

Tracks:

The Grenadier - Richard Edgar-Wilson
The Young Lover - Richard Edgar-Wilson
Betty And Johnny - Richard Edgar-Wilson
Rise Up And Reach The Stars - Richard Edgar-Wilson
The Bells - Nik Hancock-Child
Ann's Cradle Song - Nik Hancock-Child
As I Lay In The Early Sun - Nik Hancock-Child
The Cherry Tree - Nik Hancock-Child
Dusk - Nik Hancock-Child
Peter Warlock's Fancy - John Constable
The Frostbound Wood - John Constable
Chopcherry - John Constable
A Sad Song - John Constable
Rutterkin - John Constable
Bethlehem Down - John Constable
Wapping Old Stairs - Felicity Lott
Long Steel Grass - Martyn Hill
Tango-Pasodoble - Martyn Hill
Popular Song - Martyn Hill
Beatriz's Song - Felicity Lott
Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love - Philip Langridge
Early One Morning - Felicity Lott
The Foggy, Foggy View - Philip Langridge
Now The Leaves Are Falling Fast - Philip Langridge
Tell Me The Truth About Love - Della Jones
The Choirmaster's Burial - Philip Langridge

Customer Reviews:

A century of British art songs to delight those who love them.......2006-06-26

These 53 songs have been collected by Naxos from their extensive acquisitions from Collins Classics, and perhaps other British sources now out of business. There's a steady cottage industry, year after year, producing the typical English art song, which is usually based on folk songs, but even in more modern idioms is profuondly conservative and nostaligic. Half these songs, not to mention half the composers, are totally unknown to American audiences, but the familiar names of Vaughan Williams and Britten represent high quality, and the lesser lights, such as Warlock and Quilter, are mainstays in this repertoire.

I'd challenge all but the most addicted listener to make it through more than ten songs at a sitting, and many of these pieces are tepid, offering comfort rather than inspiration. The singers are among the best, but Graham Johnson and Steuart Beford, who do most of the accompaniments, are lackluster. I know that won't be a popular comment, yet if you compare any of these songs with rendiitons done by Janet Baker, John Shirley-quirk, and most recently Bryn Terfel and Ian Bostridge, you immediately notice how much more intensity and drama is pesent than htis colleciton reveals.

The English Songs Series, Volume 1: Ralph Vaughan Williams

Average customer rating:

GREAT CD FOR CHEAPO!
Wonderful

The English Songs Series, Volume 1: Ralph Vaughan Williams

Manufacturer: Collins Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

It Was A Lover And His Lass - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
The Lawyer - Louisa Fuller/Simon Keenlyside
The Splendour Falls - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Graham Johnson
The Water Mill - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Graham Johnson
Tired - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
Silent Noon - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
Searching For Lambs - Louisa Fuller/Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Nocturne - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
Joy, Shipmate, Joy! - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
Lord, Come Away - John Metcalfe/Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Come Love, Come Lord - John Metcalfe/Anthony Rolfe Johnson
Five Mystical Songs: i Easter - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
Five Mystical Songs: ii I Got Me Flowers - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
Five Mystical Songs: iii Love Bade Me Welcome - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
Five Mystical Songs: iv The Call - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
Five Mystical Songs: v Antiphon - Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson
On Wenlock Edge: i On Wenlock Edge - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Graham Johnson
On Wenlock Edge: ii From Far, From Eve And Morning - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Graham Johnson
On Wenlock Edge: iii Is My Team Ploughing? - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Graham Johnson
On Wenlock Edge: iv Oh, When I Was In Love With You - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Graham Johnson
On Wenlock Edge: v Bredon Hill - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Graham Johnson
On Wenlock Edge: vi Clun - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Graham Johnson
Dirge For Fidele - Anthony Rolfe Johnson/Simon Keenlyside/Graham Johnson

Customer Reviews:

GREAT CD FOR CHEAPO!.......2004-01-03

Usually Naxos is hit or miss, but Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Simon Keenlyside pull off a great recording of a great selection of some of Vaughn Williams. Best 7 dollars I ever spent, really. On Wenlock Edge is particularly good, but really its all superb.

Wonderful.......2002-08-28

Beautiful settings by Vaughan Williams, Splendid singing by both Anthony Rolfe Johnson and Simon Keenlyside. Atmospheric recording. Bliss! All lovers of art songs, rejoice!

If There Were Dreams to Sell: English Orchestral Songs

Average customer rating:

Sensitive, understated beauty

If There Were Dreams to Sell: English Orchestral Songs

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Three Shakespeare Songs Op. 6: 1. Come Away, Death
Three Shakespeare Songs Op. 6: 2. O Mistress Mine
Three Shakespeare Songs Op. 6: 3. Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
Love Blows As The Wind Blows: 1. Love Blows As The Wind Blows
Love Blows As The Wind Blows: 2. Life In Her Creaking Shoes
Love Blows As The Wind Blows: 3. Coming Up From Richmond
Twilight Op. 59 No. 6 - Elgar
Pleading Op. 48 No. 1 - Elgar
Let Us Garlands Bring: Five Shakespeare Songs Op. 18: 1. Come Away, Come Away, Death - Finzi
Let Us Garlands Bring: Five Shakespeare Songs Op. 18: 2. Who Is Silvia? - Finzi
Let Us Garlands Bring: Five Shakespeare Songs Op. 18: 3. Fear No More The Heat O' The Sun - Finzi
Let Us Garlands Bring: Five Shakespeare Songs Op. 18: 4. O Mistress Mine - Finzi
Let Us Garlands Bring: Five Shakespeare Songs Op. 18: 5. It Was A Lover And His Lass - Finzi
Six Songs From 'A Shropshire Lad': 1. Loveliest Of Trees
Six Songs From 'A Shropshire Lad': 2. When I Was One-And-Twenty
Six Songs From 'A Shropshire Lad': 3. Look Not In My Eyes
Six Songs From 'A Shropshire Lad': 4. Think No More Lad
Six Songs From 'A Shropshire Lad': 5. The Lads In Their Hundreds
Six Songs From 'A Shropshire Lad': 6. Is My Team Ploughing?
Three Songs From 'The House Of Life': 1. Love-Sight
Three Songs From 'The House Of Life': 2. Silent Noon - Vaughan Williams
Three Songs From 'The House Of Life': 3. Heart's Haven - Vaughan Williams
If There Were Dreams To Sell - Ireland
Hope The Hornblower - Ireland

Customer Reviews:

Sensitive, understated beauty.......2000-06-16

This is a sensitive, tasteful presentation of British art songs by a British bass-baritone and a British orchestra. What this means up front is that, if you are looking for a ringing, blow-you-away delivery of music that goes immediately for the gut (something like a charismatic, gifted, perfectly trained Italian singing the most heart-rending of Neapolitan songs), you will not find it on this CD. But there is great beauty here. It is unfortunate that the CD program is such that the least pleasing performances come first and are what you hear if you download the samples. The early tracks, up through the Elgar pieces, often seem to lie somewhat uncomfortably in Varcoe's voice, but from the Finzi "Let us Garlands Bring" set through the end of the program his voice is warm and controlled. It is not a large voice, though, and, while it is never completely lost in the orchestra, it sometimes blends into the accompaniment rather than standing out in places where I think it should be heard better. Many of these songs were originally set for piano and voice and were later orchestrated, either by the original composer or by someone else. I am of two minds about the value of the orchestrations. They are always pleasing, allowing the listener to be wrapped in the music more than would be possible in a piano-only performance. At their best they add a shimmer of sustained sound that would not be possible on a piano. Finzi's own orchestration of his "Fear no more the heat o' the Sun", which in this performance would go into my desert island collection, certainly adds to its moving beauty. But in another striking song, Butterworth's "Is My Team Ploughing?", as orchestrated by Lance Baker, I have to listen carefully to catch the crucial final line.

Vaughan Williams Weekend: Fantasia On Greensleeves; The Lark Ascending; English Folk Song Suite

Average customer rating:

I say GREAT but with reservation

Vaughan Williams Weekend: Fantasia On Greensleeves; The Lark Ascending; English Folk Song Suite

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Choruses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Noels | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General Christmas | Holiday | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

A Cappella | Folk | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music

General Christmas | Holiday Music | Special Features | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000041ZC
Release Date: 1992-03-10

Tracks:

Fantasia on Greensleeves
Linden Lea
Silent Noon
The Vagabond (Songs of Travel)
The Lark Ascending
Full Fathom Five
The Cloud-Capp'd Towers
King's College Choir, Cambridge: Over Hill, Over Dale
March: Seventeen Come Sunday
Intermezzo: My Bonny Boy
March: Folk Songs from Somerset
O Clap Your Hands
O Taste and See
Fantasia on Christmas Carols

Customer Reviews:

I say GREAT but with reservation.......2004-06-28

This is a great recording of some of Ralph(pernounced "RAFE")Vaughn Williams best work. But it is not the best you can find. For the english folk song suite, i highly recomend the recording of Neville Marriner and Academy of St.Martins in the fields. For the Lark ascending the recording of Midori and the New York Philharmonic can't be beat. For "O Clap your hands" and "O Taste and See" this is the best recordings. Except that the Kings choir could work on the diction.