This is an important
recording because it is presents part
songs and ballads from Roger Quilter’s
extensive output. Many of these are
first recordings. This Naxos series
of Quilter material will do much to
restore the composer’s place in British
musical history. It builds upon their
acquisition of the Collins British music
series and makes them a major player
in the genre.
This disc doesn’t
include the famous art songs, like Now
sleeps the crimson petal. Instead
it documents another aspect of English
musical life : music for private performance..
The majority of songs here come from
the Arnold Book of Old Songs, a collection
of traditional songs compiled over twenty
years, arranged for various friends.
. It was dedicated to Arnold Vivian,
Quilter’s adored nephew. He was executed
for escaping from a prisoner of war
camp in Italy.in 1943. Quilter never
got over the tragedy. .The "old
songs" are well known melodies
like Drink to me only and My
Lady Greensleeves., where the tune
remains constant, but the composer writes
a varying accompaniment. Apparently
Arnold had a high, light tenor voice
: perhaps he sang some of these while
his uncle played. The song, What
will you do, love, was never published.
Written when Arnold was sent to war,
it is a starkly personal cry of pain,
couched in Quilter’s characteristic
reticent understatement. It is among
the many songs recorded here for the
first time.
The very simplicity
of these self effacing arrangements
lends itself to performance. No technical
challenges here, allowing performers
to relax and enjoy themselves. Even
the fairly ambitious setting of Barbara
Allen, with mounting crescendos
between verses, supports the melody
rather than overwhelms it. John Ireland,
reading the scores for the BBC, considered
some of these songs unworthy of Quilter
at his best, and indeed a few do little
but add to the limited part song repertoire.
Nonetheless, taking these songs for
what they are, in themselves, is an
insight into another sensibility : the
sensibility of essentially private,
personal music making. I also found
that this helped me understand the composer
himself more intuitively, for he was
an intensely private man whose inner
self must have been hard to penetrate.
The performers on
this recording are all well known. If
anything, they have to "sing down"
to the songs instead of aiming for their
usual high art background. The result
is charming and natural. Langridge and
Pitt come over particularly well. Owen
Norris negotiates Quilter’s subtle arrangements
with aplomb. Here, he is playing a Bösendorfer.
Notes are by Valerie Langfield, the
leading authority on the composer. Her
Roger Quilter: his life and music,
The Boydell Press 2002 (ISBN 0-85115-871-4),
is excellent, and highly recommended.
Amazon
UK £40
Amazon
US Reviews
Anne Ozorio
see also review
by Ian Lace April Bargain
of the Month
Amanda Pitt (soprano); Joanne Thomas (mezzo);
Philip Langridge (tenor); David Wilson-Johnson
(baritone); David Owen Norris (piano) 
