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Sixty Glorious Years: A Concert of 19th Century British Music Arthur SULLIVAN (1842-1900) Jubilee Hymn: O King of Kings John HULLAH (1812-1884) Three fishers went sailing Alexander MACKENZIE (1847-1935) Dormi, Jesu (The Virgin's Cradle Hymn) William STERNDALE BENNETT (1816-1875) No.2 of Three Romances Op. 14 Robert PEARSALL (1795-1856) O who will o'er the downs so free? [Chorus] Philip ARMES (1836-1901) Victoria [Madrigal] John HATTON (1809-1886) To Anthea Michael BALFE (1800-1880) When I beheld the anchor weigh'd John GOSS (1800-1880) If we believe that Jesus died Brinley RICHARDS (1817-1885) Pastorale PRINCE ALBERT (1819-1861) Grüss an den Bruder (Does my brother think of me?) George MACFARREN (1813-1887) Pack clouds away Walter CARROLL (1869-1955) The Stars; Nature Walter MACFARREN (1826-1905) L'Amitié Micahel BALFE (1800-1880) The Sands of Dee Maude WHITE (1855-1937) To Mary Henry BISHOP (786-1855) Home! Sweet Home! George MARTIN (1844-1916) Short Festival Te Deum Katy Morrell (soprano); Phillida Bannister (contralto); Campbell Russell (tenor); Fiona Murphy (cello); Wilfred Goddard (clarinet); Ian Wass (organ); John Talbot, (piano) The Midlands Chorale/Robert Williams Recorded at Tettenham College, Wolverhampton, November 1997 BRITISH MUSIC SOCIETY BMS422CD [75.14]

AVAILABILITY BMS, 7 Tudor Gardens, Upminster, Essex RM14 3DE] We infrequently come across new recordings of vintage 19th Century songs, ballads and hymns so this CD is a rare and admirable find. Linked to a concert performance in celebration of the centenary year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, we sample the music of some forgotten composers. Here the mixture is wide and allows one to learn something of their styles. The ballads, To Anthea and When I beheld the anchor, are both delightful and well suit Campbell Russell's light lyrical tenor voice. The Balfe ballad comes from his first major opera, The Siege of La Rochelle (1835), an opera unjustly neglected. For me, particular highlights of the disc are the piano pieces. Here delightful compositions of Sterndale Bennett, Romance; Brinley Richards, Pastorale and Walter Macfarren L'Amitie, have been unearthed. All are beautifully played by John Talbot on a piano with warm tone. The Midlands Chorale sing with good harmony and strength in the soprano section. They are particularly well accomplished in their handling of the four-part chorus/madrigal by Pearson. Armes' madrigal would be more charming if there was more attention to dynamics. The opening track of Sullivan's Jubilee Hymn seems a good choice to set the historical scene. Though well sung it suffers from a certain lethargy brought about by its plodding tempo. This disappoints as an opening piece. I can understand the need to take hymns slowly in a cathedral setting, but where reverberation problems are not in evidence a more lively speed would be an advantage. Perhaps the other choral pieces and hymns on this disc are similarly a touch on the slow side for many listeners' liking. The Martin Festival Te Deum is engaging and although Martin's organ accompaniment is unsophisticated the choir hold it together with a good pace. Martin is not well known and as only two other entries appear in the catalogue (for a hymn and psalm) this representation of his music is appreciated. Goss wrote many pieces of church music during his long life yet the sombre example chosen does not for me contain much of interest. Mackenzie's Dormi, Jesu, on the other hand, provides plenty of interest and is delivered by Phillida Bannister (contralto) accompanied by Fiona Murphy (cello0 and John Talbot (piano). Of all the pieces that could have represented the works of Henry Bishop, Home Sweet Home seems an uninspired choice. This gentle and dreamy song is already well known from the BBC Proms. Perhaps one of his Shakespearean pieces, fresh to the ears, would have been more welcome. The singers are accomplished and deliver the lyrics with fair sensitivity. The brief, yet useful, notes unfortunately omit to give any dates of composition and so the listener cannot make comparisons of style with period. Raymond Walker British Music Society   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage There will be NO VAT Rises [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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