SOMM Recordings announces Volume 2 of its revelatory survey of One Hundred Years of British Song with tenor James Gilchrist and pianist Nathan Williamson.
Volume 1 received wide acclaim,Ā GramophoneĀ hailing it as āa most impressive releaseā, adding āGilchristās contribution is past praiseā¦ [with] immaculate support throughout from Williamsonā. Awarded its Recording of the Month accolade,Ā LimelightĀ declared it āa penetrating, frequently revelatory start to a promising new seriesā.
Featuring 10 first recordings āĀ Elizabeth MaconchyāsĀ Three Donne SongsĀ and seven songs byĀ Doreen CarwithenĀ ā Volume 2 focuses on five composers whose belated involvement with song straddled the Second World War.
MaconchyāsĀ Three Donne SongsĀ are described by Williamson in his informative booklet notes as āsubstantial, ambitious songs, imbued with a genuine sense of drama by an assured composer at the height of her powersā. Carwithenās seven miniatures represent her complete song output and display, as Williamson notes, āthe most imaginative and creative writingā¦ real gems revealing the seeds of a truly imaginative and expressive musical personalityā.Ā William AlwynāsĀ A Leave-TakingĀ deftly counterbalances the obvious influence of German romanticism with music of striking, involving simplicity.Ā Alan RawsthorneāsĀ Two Songs to Poems of John FletcherĀ combine Elizabethan counterpoint with music hall humour. Rawsthorne also contributes to Prison Cycle alongsideĀ Alan Bush, a vivid setting of political texts by the German socialist playwright and poet Ernst Toller.
James Gilchristās previous SOMM releases include two volumes of ParryāsĀ English LyricsĀ (SOMMCDĀ 257;Ā 270) and Penelope ThwaitesāĀ From Five ContinentsĀ (SOMMCDĀ 0612), to which,Ā theclassicalreviewĀ said, āGilchrist brings authority throughoutā.
Nathan Williamsonās SOMM association includesĀ Great American SonatasĀ (SOMMCD 0163), lauded byĀ GramophoneĀ as āa release of distinctionā, andĀ Colour and LightĀ (SOMMCD 0196), a 2019 Recording of the Year forĀ International Piano: āNo praise could be high enough for Williamsonās performancesā.
On This Recording
-
William Alwyn: A Leave-Taking
- The Pilgrim Cranes
- Daffodils
- The Ocean Wood
- Fortune's Wheel
- Study of a Spider
- The Two Old Kings
- A Leave-Taking Alan Bush: Prison Cycle
- I Andante lentamente
- II Andantino piacevole
- III Poco gravamente
- IV Andante
- V Grave Alan Rawsthorne: Two Songs to Poems of John Fletcher
- Away, Delights
- God Lyaeus Elizabeth Maconchy: Three Donne Songs
- A Hymn to God the Father
- A Hymn to Christ
- The Sun Rising Doreen Carwithen
- Serenade
- Noon
- Echo (Seven Sweet Notes)
- The Ride-by-Nights
- Clear Had the Day Been
- Slow Spring
- Echo (Who Called?)
Reviews:
āI love the sound of these songsā¦ It is redundant to declare that this is a superlative CD. Considering the two performers, the technical prowess of Somm Records the excellent liner notes and the imaginative and wide-ranging programme, it could be nothing else.ā āJohn France, MusicWeb International