Composer: William Alwyn, Alan Dudley Bush, Doreen Carwithen, Elizabeth Maconchy, Alan Rawsthorne
Performer: James Gilchrist, Nathan Williamson
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: SOMM
Release: 2021
Size: 965 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Alwyn: A Leave-Taking
01. No. 1, The Pilgrim Cranes
02. No. 2, Daffodils
03. No. 3, The Ocean Wood
04. No. 4, Fortune’s Wheel
05. No. 5, Study of a Spider
06. No. 6, The Two Old Kings
07. No. 7, A Leave-Taking
Bush: Prison Cycle
08. No. 1, Andante lentamente
09. No. 2, Andantino piacevole
10. No. 3, Poco gravamente
11. No. 4, Andante
12. No. 5, Grave
Rawsthorne: Songs (2) to Poems of John Fletcher
13. No. 1, Away, Delights
14. No. 2, God Lyaeus
Maconchy: Donne Songs (3)
15. No. 1, A Hymn to God the Father
16. No. 2, A Hymn to Christ
17. No. 3, The Sun Rising
18. Carwithen: Serenade
Carwithen: Songs (3) to Poems by Walter de la Mare
19. No. 1, Noon
20. No. 2, Echo (Seven Sweet Notes)
21. No. 3, The Ride-by-Nights
22. Carwithen: Clear Had the Day Been
23. Carwithen: Slow Spring
24. Carwithen: Echo (Who Called?)
Volume 1 received wide acclaim, Gramophone hailing it as “a most impressive release”, adding “Gilchrist’s contribution is past praise… [with] immaculate support throughout from Williamson”. Awarded its Recording of the Month accolade, Limelight declared it “a penetrating, frequently revelatory start to a promising new series”. Featuring 10 first recordings – Elizabeth Maconchy’s Three Donne Songs and seven Songs by Doreen Carwithen – Volume 2 focuses on five composers whose belated involvement with song straddled the Second World War.
Maconchy’s Three Donne Songs are described by Williamson in his informative booklet notes as “substantial, ambitious songs, imbued with a genuine sense of drama by an assured composer at the height of her powers”. Carwithen’s seven miniatures represent her complete song output and display, as Williamson notes, “the most imaginative and creative writing… real gems revealing the seeds of a truly imaginative and expressive musical personality”. William Alwyn’s A Leave-Taking deftly counterbalances the obvious influence of German romanticism with music of striking, involving simplicity. Alan Rawsthorne’s Two Songs to Poems of John Fletcher combine Elizabethan counterpoint with music hall humour. Rawsthorne also contributes to Prison Cycle alongside Alan Bush, a vivid setting of political texts by the German socialist playwright and poet Ernst Toller.