The CD liner notes begins with a sobering
reflection on British music-making. Richard Carder notes that ‘[The English
Poetry and Song Society] competitions for composers started in 1992,
celebrating the bi-centenary of the birth of Shelley, and continued every year
after that with anniversaries of various poets, as a way of increasing interest
in English Art-Song, which has always been a poor relation compared with German
Lieder, French Mélodies, and Italian Arias; – as Hubert Parry noted in his History of Music, ‘The English prefer
foreign music!’
I have always been in the
minority in this matter. Although I enjoy Schubert, Wolf, Duparc et. al. my
preference has always been for English art-song. The first major work in this
genre that I heard was John Shirley Quirk’s performance of Ralph Vaughan
Williams’ magical Songs of Travel (Robert
Louis Stevenson). It has been a genre
that has captivated and fascinated me ever since.
This new release from Divine Art,
sponsored by The English Poetry and Song Society contains music by eight Society
composers, ‘who have all featured as prize-winners in past competitions,
including the three complete cycles [alluded to in] the album title, and a song
by each of the four past chairmen of the society.’ It is a potpourri of
fascinating music.
Of the 52 songs on this 2-CD set,
I will note several highlights-for me.
The main event are the three song
cycles by Ivor Gurney, William Carnell and Dennis Wickens. These are settings
of poetry by Sappho, A.E. Housman and W.H. Davies respectively.
Clearly Ivor Gurney is the
best-kent composer on this album, with many CDs devoted to his vocal music. Gurney’s
Seven Sappho Songs were selected from
poet William Bliss Carman’s (1861–1929) volume Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics. This book was an adaptation of several fragments
by the Aeolic Greek lyric poet. Three songs were originally published by Oxford
University Press, with the remaining four being edited by Richard Carder as
part of a project to realise Gurney’s unpublished songs. I understand that this is the first recording
of Gurney’s complete ‘Sappho’ cycle. These are beautiful songs that are full of
passion and emotion: they perfectly reflect the blue skies and seas of the Isle
of Lesbos.
It is hardly surprising that
Housman is represented on this disc. For many years, he was one of the foremost
poets set by English composers. William Carnell has selected six songs from
Housman’s A Shropshire Lad, including
such favourites as ‘In Summertime on Bredon Hill’, ‘Along the Field’ and ‘O see
how thick the gold cup flowers’. They are all well-crafted songs and that are
in the trajectory of earlier settings. A
Country Lover is splendidly sung by Johnny Herford. The work was first
performed in 2007.
When I was a teenager, I read
W.H. Davies Autobiography of a Super Tramp.
This fascinating ‘romp’ around Great Britain, the United States and Canada
appealed to my sense of adventure and history. It was not until many years
later that I discovered that Davies had also written poetry. Dennis Wickens has
set several of these verses. Alas, the liner notes give no information about
this work, which is a pity. For me, it is the most important and vibrant work on
this CD.
The second CD presents several
standalone songs by a variety of composers as detailed in the batting-order above.
These set an eclectic variety of poets, including relative rarities in the
English art-song tradition such as Carol Ann Duffy, Rabindranath Tagore, Hart
Crane and Edith Sitwell. More common sources for songs include Walter de la
Mare, Christina Rossetti, A.E. Housman and Thomas Hardy.
I enjoyed most of these songs,
however a few especially captured my imagination. I always admire a composer
who sets a text that has become a standard in another composer’s oeuvre. Brian
Daubney’s ‘Bredon Hill’ is a satisfying take on a song that has been defined by
George Butterworth and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Equally enjoyable is Daubney’s
version of Humbert Wolfe’s poem ‘The Dream City’. This has been previously set
by Gustav Holst. It is one of my favourite poems, and Daubney rises to the
challenge.
Another interesting and
imaginative song is Graham Garton’s ‘The Shade-Catchers’, with text written by
Charlotte Mew.
Robert Hugil’s settings of
Rabindranath Tagore are particularly lovely with an impressive sound-world that
compliments the ‘profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse’ from this
largely-forgotten poet.
One of the most delightful songs
on this second CD is Janet Oates settings of Walter de la Mare’s ‘The Cupboard’,
complete with ‘lollipops’ and ‘Banbury Cakes’ and hand-claps. It is a little
masterpiece.
My favourite song here is Simon
Willink’s heart-achingly beautiful realisation of his own poem ‘Sea and Sky’.
There are plenty more interesting
numbers, each of which deserves a detailed analysis.
The liner notes have been
assembled by Richard Carder, David Crocker and several of the composers. They
vary in information, with Carder’s comments on Ivor Gurney being essay-length
and notes on several of the composers and their contribution being little more
than a couple of short paragraphs. I was not sure why Alfred Warren (1926-2014)
is mentioned in these biographical notes, as I could not find any music by him:
I think that he is, in fact, a poet who wrote the text for ‘My Whole World’,
set my David Crocker. But I could be wrong.
The texts of all the songs are
provided which is helpful, although I would have liked the source of each text
to have been included in the track-listings. Dates of composition were not
included in the track-listings and are not always given in the liner
notes. For biographical details of the
performers, the listener is invited to visit the Divine Art Website.
The performance of these songs is
typically very good. Both Sarah Leonard and Johnny Herford bring considerable skill,
magic and understanding to this music. The words are always clearly enunciated
and are immediately understandable. The
piano part is well-executed by Nigel Foster.
This is an excellent exploration
of (mainly) contemporary English art-song, written in largely, but not
exclusively traditional style, and goes a long way to prove that the genre is
alive and well in the early 21st century.
Track Listing:
Ivor GURNEY (1890-1937)
Seven Sappho Songs [14:38]
William CARNELL (b.1938)
A Country Lover [18:42]
Michael WATTS (b.1937)
Gypsy Girl [20:07]
Dennis WICKENS (b.1926)
This Life [23:59]
Simon WILLINK (1929-2015)
Sea and Sky [4:13]
David CROCKER (b.1943)
A Great Time [1:59], My Whole World [1:46]
Sulyen CARADON (b.1942)
Silver [2:32]
Brian DAUBNEY (b.1929)
Bredon Hill [3:56], Boot and Saddle [1:34], Because I could not stop for death
[2:35], The Dream City [4:32], Waiting Both [2:08]
Graham GARTON (b.1929)
Leisure [5:05], The Eagle [2:32], The Song of the Secret [2:45], The Shade Catchers
[1:23]
Frank HARVEY (b.1939)
Dawn [3:58], The Convergence of the Twain [4:43], I so liked spring [1:10], Remember
[5:02]
Robert HUGILL (b.1955)
Voyages III [4:24], Gitanjali XIII [3:48], Gitanjali II [4:06], The Pillar [3:01]
Janet OATES (b.1970)
Bee: Dance [3:53], Money [2:13], The King of China’s Daughter [3:18], The Cupboard
[2:18]
Sarah Leonard (soprano), Johnny Herford (baritone) Nigel
Foster (piano)
DIVINE ART
dda21230
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.
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