Composer: Charles Villers Stanford
Performer: Roderick Williams, James Way, Andrew West
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: SOMM
Release: 2021
Size: 1.16 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Songs of Faith Op. 97 (Walt Whitman) (1906)
01. No. 1, Strong Son of God
02. No. 2, God and the Universe
03. No. 3, Faith
Songs of Faith, Op. 97, Set 2
04. No. 4, To the Soul
05. No. 5, Tears!
06. No. 6, Joy, Shipmate, Joy!
Songs of Robert Bridges, Op. 43
07. No. 1, Since Thou, O Fondest and Truest
08. No. 2, I Praise the Tender Flower
09. No. 3, Say, O Say! Saith the Music
Songs from Shamus O’ Brien, Op. 61
10. My Heart Is Thrall
11. Glengall
12. Ochone, When I Used to Be Young
13. I Love My Ould Ireland
Nonsense Rhymes
14. No. 1, The Hardy Norsewoman, Op. 365
15. No. 2, The Compleat Virtuoso, Op. 366
16. No. 3, The Absent Barber, Op. 367
17. No. 4, The Cow and the Coward, Op. 368
18. No. 5, Barkerolle, Op. 369
19. No. 6, Dithyramb, Op. 370
20. No. 7, The Generous Parishioner, Op. 371
21. No. 8, Limmerich ohne Worte, Op. 372
22. No. 9, Boat Song, Op. 373
23. No. 10, Nileinsamkeit, Op. 374
24. No. 11, The Aquiline Snub, Op. 375
25. No. 12, Tone Poem, Op. 376
26. No. 13, Gongdichtung, Op. 377
27. No. 14, A Visit of Elizabeth, Op. 378
The Triumph of Love, Op. 82
28. No. 1, O One Deep Sacred Outlet of My Soul
29. No. 2, Like as the Thrush in Winter
30. No. 3, When in the Solemn Stillness of the Night
31. No. 4, I Think That We Were Children
32. No. 5, O Flames of Passion
Nonsense Rhymes
33. No. 5, Barkerolle, Op. 369
SOMM RECORDINGS announces a major new recording of songs by Charles Villiers Stanford including the first complete recording of Songs of Faith and first recordings of other distinctively vital songs.
Songs of Love, Faith and Nonsense continues SOMM’s widely acclaimed commitment to Stanford’s music with baritone Roderick Williams, tenor James Way (making his SOMM debut) and pianist Andrew West throwing revealing new light on his gift for word setting and the variety of
his responses to matters of emotional ardour, spiritual fervency and the sublime nonsense poems of Edward Lear.
Setting poems by Tennyson and Walt Whitman, Songs of Faith demonstrates Stanford’s ability to give unique expression to the profound and the arcane with music of dramatic force and harmonic ingenuity.
Three songs by Robert Bridges (librettist for Stanford’s oratorio Eden) and four songs from the opera Shamus O’Brien tap into Stanford’s Irish roots to colourful and evocative effect.
Composed to mark his 25th wedding anniversary, The Triumph of Love sets five sonnets by his close cousin, Edmond Gore Alexander Holmes, in richly executed settings.
The delightful Nonsense Rhymes taken from Edward Lear’s inimitably playful, poignant and pointed limericks show a different side to Stanford, a “highly articulate, dry humour like many literary Irishmen of his era”, as Jeremy Dibble says in his authoritative booklet notes.
SOMM’s previous Stanford recordings include the recently released String Quintets (SOMMCD 0623) and the complete, three-volume String Quartets (SOMMCD 0160, 0185, 0607) with the Dante Quartet praised by Gramophone for their “ardent, alert and thoroughly lived-in performances”, and Partsongs with the Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir and Paul Spicer (SOMMCD 0128) which Limelight described as “excellent…beautifully sung”.
SOMM’s world premiere recording of The Travelling Companion (SOMMCD274-2) was hailed “a landmark” by Gramophone.