Album

This two-disc set entitled An Anthology of English Song is just what it says it is: a very generous collection of 53 selections drawn from 13 separate discs of songs by English composers from Stanford to Britten. Some were first issued in the '90s on the late Collins label. Some were first issued in the 2000s on the vibrant Naxos label. But all are superbly sung by the cream of English art song singers. The performances here are each superlative in their own ways and some of them compare with the best ever made. Simon Keenlyside's clarion interpretation of Vaughan Williams' "The Call" thrills the heart. Philip Langridge's magical interpretation of Holst's "Now in these fairylands" touches the imagination. Bernadette Greevey's witty interpretation of Bax's "Oh dear, what can the matter be" tickles the funny bone. And Felicity Lott's haunting interpretation of Walton's "Beatriz's Songs" lingers long in the memory. While some of the repertoire is fairly recherché—Liza Lehmann, Arthur Somervell, and Cecil Armstrong Gibbs are names known only to the most dedicated fans of the genre—the collection as a whole will delight those who love English art songs. Whether recorded in the '90s by Collins or the 2000s by Naxos, the sound is consistently smooth and clean.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 2
Charles Villiers Stanford Composer A Soft Day, for voice & piano Work Hugh Tinney Piano, Bernadette Greevy Mezzo-Soprano
1	A Soft Day, for voice & piano	2:48			$0.99
Charles Villiers Stanford Composer A Sheaf of Songs From Leinster, Op.140 Work Hugh Tinney Piano, Bernadette Greevy Mezzo-Soprano
2	6.Irish Skies	5:13			$0.99
Liza Lehmann Composer Cherry Ripe (arr. of aria by Chas. Ed. Horn) Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Janice Watson Soprano
3	Cherry Ripe (arr. of aria by Chas. Ed. Horn)	2:42			$0.99
Liza Lehmann Composer Mustard and Cress Work Neal Davies Baritone, Steuart Bedford Piano
4	Mustard and Cress	1:52			$0.99
Liza Lehmann Composer The Lily of a day, for voice & piano Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Janice Watson Soprano
5	The Lily of a day, for voice & piano	2:37			$0.99
Liza Lehmann Composer Henry King, for voice & piano (from Four Cautionary Tales and a Moral) Work Neal Davies Baritone, Steuart Bedford Piano
6	Henry King, for voice & piano (from Four Cautionary Tales and a Moral)	3:21			$0.99
Arthur Somervell Composer Fain would I change that note, for voice & piano Work Patricia Rozario Soprano, Graham Johnson Piano
7	Fain would I change that note, for voice & piano	3:07			$0.99
Arthur Somervell Composer In Summertime on Bredon Work Graham Johnson Piano, Christopher Maltman Baritone
8	In Summertime on Bredon	3:56			$0.99
Arthur Somervell Composer The lads in their hundreds Work Graham Johnson Piano, Christopher Maltman Baritone
9	The lads in their hundreds	2:54			$0.99
Arthur Somervell Composer James Lee's Wife, for voice & orchestra/piano quintet/piano Work Catherine Wyn-Rogers Mezzo-Soprano, Graham Johnson Piano, Duke Quartet Ensemble
10	Among the rocks	3:30			$0.99
Ralph Vaughan Williams Composer It Was a Lover and His Lass, partsong for female chorus Work Anthony Rolfe Johnson Tenor, Graham Johnson Piano, Simon Keenlyside Baritone
11	It Was a Lover and His Lass, partsong for female chorus	1:53			$0.99
Ralph Vaughan Williams Composer 4 Poems by Fredegond Shove Work Anthony Rolfe Johnson Tenor, Graham Johnson Piano
12	4.The Water Mill	4:02			$0.99
Ralph Vaughan Williams Composer On Wenlock Edge, for tenor, piano and string quartet (song cycle) Work Anthony Rolfe Johnson Tenor, Graham Johnson Piano
13	On Wenlock Edge, for tenor, piano and string quartet (song cycle)	3:51			$0.99
Ralph Vaughan Williams Composer 5 Mystical Songs, for baritone, chorus ad lib and orchestra (or organ) Work Graham Johnson Piano, Simon Keenlyside Baritone
14	4.The Call	2:17			$0.99
Ralph Vaughan Williams Composer The House of Life (song cycle) Work Graham Johnson Piano, Simon Keenlyside Baritone
15	2.Silent Noon	4:38			$0.99
Gustav Holst Composer 12 Songs, Op.48, H.174 Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Philip Langridge Tenor
16	3.Now in These Fairylands	1:26			$0.99
Gustav Holst Composer The Dream-City, for soprano and orchestra, H.174 (arr. by C. Matthews from '12 Songs') Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Philip Langridge Tenor
17	The Dream-City, for soprano and orchestra, H.174 (arr. by C. Matthews from '12 Songs')	3:17			$0.99
Gustav Holst Composer 4 Songs, Op.4. H.14 Work Susan Gritton Soprano, Steuart Bedford Piano
18	2. Margrete's Cradle Song	2:45			$0.99
Gustav Holst Composer The Heart Worships, H.95 Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Christopher Maltman Baritone
19	The Heart Worships, H.95	3:14			$0.99
Roger Quilter Composer Take, o take those lips away, song for voice & piano, Op.23, No.4 Work Anthony Rolfe Johnson Tenor, Graham Johnson Piano
20	Take, o take those lips away, song for voice & piano, Op.23, No.4	1:26			$0.99
Roger Quilter Composer 3 Songs, for voice and piano, Op.3 Work Graham Johnson Piano, Lisa Milne Mezzo-Soprano
21	2.Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal	2:26			$0.99
Roger Quilter Composer Love at the Inn Work Anthony Rolfe Johnson Tenor, Graham Johnson Piano, Lisa Milne Mezzo-Soprano
22	Love calls through the summer night, for 2 voices & piano (from Love at the Inn)	5:30			$0.99
Roger Quilter Composer Three Pastoral Songs, for voice and piano trio, Op.22 Work Ivan McCready Cello, Graham Johnson Piano, Lisa Milne Mezzo-Soprano
23	1.I will go with my father a-plowing	2:26			$0.99
Lord Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson Berners Composer Three Songs (Three Sea-Shanties), for voice & piano Work 4:57 Len Vorster Piano, Ian Partridge Tenor
24	The Rio Grande (Capstan Shanty)	2:34			$0.99
25	Theodore, or the Pirate King	0:55			$0.99
26	A Long Time Ago (Hilliard's Shanty)	1:28			$0.99
Sir Arnold Bax Composer O Dear! What Can the Matter Be? Work Hugh Tinney Piano, Bernadette Greevy Mezzo-Soprano
27	O Dear! What Can the Matter Be?	1:36			$0.99
CD 2 of 2
Eric Coates Composer The Grenadier Work Eugene Asti Piano, Richard Edgar-Wilson Tenor
1	The Grenadier	3:21			$0.99
Eric Coates Composer The Young Lover, for voice & piano Work Eugene Asti Piano, Richard Edgar-Wilson Tenor
2	The Young Lover, for voice & piano	2:59			$0.99
Eric Coates Composer Betty and Johnny, for voice & piano Work Eugene Asti Piano, Richard Edgar-Wilson Tenor
3	Betty and Johnny, for voice & piano	2:12			$0.99
Eric Coates Composer Rise up and reach the stars, for voice & piano Work Eugene Asti Piano, Richard Edgar-Wilson Tenor
4	Rise up and reach the stars, for voice & piano	1:39			$0.99
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs Composer 2 Songs, Op.14 Work Rosemary Hancock-Child Piano, Nik Hancock-Child Baritone
5	2.The Bells	3:01			$0.99
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs Composer Crossings (fairy play), Op.20 Work Rosemary Hancock-Child Piano, Nik Hancock-Child Baritone
6	2.Ann's Cradle Song	3:21			$0.99
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs Composer As I Lay in the Early Sun Work Rosemary Hancock-Child Piano, Nik Hancock-Child Baritone
7	As I Lay in the Early Sun	1:49			$0.99
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs Composer The Cherry Tree Work Rosemary Hancock-Child Piano, Nik Hancock-Child Baritone
8	The Cherry Tree	2:31			$0.99
Cecil Armstrong Gibbs Composer Dusk Work Rosemary Hancock-Child Piano, Nik Hancock-Child Baritone
9	Dusk	1:31			$0.99
Peter Warlock Composer Peter Warlock's Fancy Work John Constable Piano, Christopher Maltman Baritone
10	Peter Warlock's Fancy	2:12			$0.99
Peter Warlock Composer Frostbound Wood Work John Constable Piano, Christopher Maltman Baritone
11	Frostbound Wood	3:05			$0.99
Peter Warlock Composer Chopcherry, for voice and string quartet Work Adrian Thompson Tenor, John Constable Piano
12	Chopcherry, for voice and string quartet	1:04			$0.99
Peter Warlock Composer A Sad Song Work Adrian Thompson Tenor, John Constable Piano
13	A Sad Song	2:09			$0.99
Peter Warlock Composer Rutterkin Work Adrian Thompson Tenor, John Constable Piano
14	Rutterkin	1:08			$0.99
Peter Warlock Composer Bethlehem Down Work John Constable Piano, Christopher Maltman Baritone
15	Bethlehem Down	4:36			$0.99
William Walton Composer A Song for the Lord Mayor's Table, song cycle for soprano Work Dame Felicity Lott Soprano, Graham Johnson Piano
16	7.Wapping Old Stairs	2:23			$0.99
William Walton Composer Façade, for reciter and ensemble Work 6:54 Martyn Hill Tenor, Graham Johnson Piano
17	4.Long Steel Grass	2:31			$0.99
18	6.Tango-Pasodoble	2:09			$0.99
19	19.Popular Song	2:14			$0.99
William Walton Composer Christopher Columbus, radio music for speakers, soloists, chorus, guitar and orchestra...4a.I haven't seen her for years. 4b.Beatriz's Song: When will he return? Work Martyn Hill Tenor, Graham Johnson Piano
20	4.Beatriz's Song: When will he return?	2:51			$0.99
Sir Lennox Berkeley Composer Lay your sleeping head my love, for high voice & piano, Op.14, No.2b Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Philip Langridge Tenor
21	Lay your sleeping head my love, for high voice & piano, Op.14, No.2b	5:34			$0.99
Benjamin Britten Composer Folksong Arrangements, Vol.5 ('British Isles') Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Dame Felicity Lott Soprano
22	4.Early one morning	3:23			$0.99
Benjamin Britten Composer Folksong Arrangements, Vol.3 ('British Isles') Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Philip Langridge Tenor
23	5.The Foggy, Foggy Dew	2:38			$0.99
Benjamin Britten Composer On this Island, Op.11 (song cycle) Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Philip Langridge Tenor
24	6.Now the leaves are falling fast	2:00			$0.99
Benjamin Britten Composer Cabaret Songs for Hedli Anderson (texts by W.H. Auden) Work Della Jones Mezzo-Soprano, Steuart Bedford Piano
25	1.Tell me the Truth about Love	5:41			$0.99
Benjamin Britten Composer Winter Words, for tenor and piano, Op.52 (song cycle) Work Steuart Bedford Piano, Philip Langridge Tenor
26	5.The Choirmaster's burial (or The Tenor Man's Story)	4:05			$0.99