Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams, Adrian Williams
Performer: Roderick Williams, Jennifer Johnston
Orchestra: BBC Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Martyn Brabbins
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Albion
Catalogue: ALBCD028
Release: 2016
Size: 635 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Vaughan Williams: 3 Nocturnes
01. Nocturne No. 1. Smile O Voluptuous Cool-Breath’d Earth
02. Nocturne No. 2. Whispers of Heavenly Death
03. Nocturne No. 3. Out of the Rolling Ocean
04. Williams: A Road All Paved with Stars (after R. Vaughan Williams’ A Poisoned Kiss)
05. Vaughan Williams: Stricken Peninsula (arr. P. Lane)
Vaughan Williams: 4 Last Songs (Orch. A. Payne)
06. No. 1. Procris
07. No. 2. Tired
08. No. 3. Hands, Eyes and Heart
09. No. 4. Menelaus
From Ralph Vaughan Williams’s earliest compositions to the works written near his death in 1958, this new release from Albion, Discoveries, explores his lesser known works from top to bottom. + All of the works here are world premiere recordings. Modern composers have jumped on board to make this project a reality. Anthony Payne has orchestrated Numbers I and II of the Three Nocturnes for Baritone and Orchestra, as well as Four Last Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra, and celebrated arrangers Adrian Williams and Philip Lane have also contributed. + Two of Britain’s finest singers are featured on this release, Roderick Williams and Jennifer Johnston. These artists are joined by the BBC Symphony conducted by Martyn Brabbins. This project was made in conjunction with BBC Radio 3. + The Financial Times named Jennifer Johnston the “Face to Watch in Opera,” and she was called by both the Observer and BBC Music Magazine “a rising star.” She is a graduate of Cambridge University as well as the Royal College of Music, and has appeared in operas at the Teatro alls Scala, Salzburg Festival, Opera de Lille, and many more. + Roderick Williams has appeared as a soloist alongside the Scottish Opera, English National Opera, and at The Royal Opera House. In September 2014, he was a featured soloist at the Last Night of the Proms.