MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

 

Obtainable for £12 (incl. p&p UK only) from Dr David Wright D Mus OM, Elvington House, 24 Belvedere Street, Ryde, Isle of Wight,
PO33 2JW, UK. Tel: +44(0)1983 812476

Songs Discovered
Thomas DUNHILL How soft upon the ev'ning air (Irene Gass)
J Meredith TATTON The Shepherdess (Alice Meynell)
Winifred BURY Lullaby (Ida M Downing)
David WRIGHT Two Carols op. 4: (Anon) A carol in April; The Moke's Carol
James BROWN Swinging on a birch tree (Lucy Larcom)
Ivor GURNEY Since Thou O fondest and truest (Bridges)
Ian VENABLES Love lives beyond (John Clare)
Philip WOOD If we must part (Dowson)
Frank HARVEY A quoi bon dire (Charlotte Mew)
Frank HARVEY The Stranger (Walter de la Mare)
Winifred BURY There is a ladye (Thomas Ford)
Ivor GURNEY Come away Death (Shakespeare)
Ian VENABLES At the Court of the Poisoned Rose (Marion Angus)
Humphrey SEARLE Golden Hair; I hear an army marching (Two songs from 'Chamber Music' by James Joyce*)
James BROWN A Nocturne (W S Blunt)
(* two Searle songs that would have been lost had David Wright not rescued them)
Judith Buckle (mezzo); Peter Bailey (piano)
rec. 19 November and 3 December, 2008, Music Room Pizza Express
Maidstone
Private Issue
[timing details not given]

 

Experience Classicsonline



With the first half dozen and more of these songs on this delightful recording we are in a world bequeathed to us by Hubert Parry. These songs are a genre all their own - contemporary only in that they are timeless - belonging to a generation one of whose joys was the gathering in the evening around the parlour piano … awaiting, as I once said on another occasion “hot buttered crumpets to come”. They belong to a tradition as English as that comestible yet are of as universal appeal as are such age-old favourites as 'Stonecracker John', 'Sea Fever' and 'Five Eyes'.

The disc is titled 'Songs Discovered' and while the majority of the poets may be 'kent faces' the songs are indeed 'discoveries' and are in fact world premiere recordings! This, for me, has thrown up some rare, unmissable experiences.

While all seventeen songs have an obvious unity there is a great variety of stylistic expression. These range from the simple love-song of Winifred Bury: about whom seemingly nothing is known! To the subtly conventional Thomas Dunhill. Then there's Ian Venables' evocative treatment of the enigmatic Sitwellian imagery of Marion Angus's 'The Court of the Poisoned Rose'. Not to mention the Gilbert & Sullivan-esque whimsy of 'Swinging on a Birch Tree' with its exciting accompaniment.

It is also surprising to find not one but two unrecorded songs of Gurney - although neither seems to me particularly characteristic. There are also darknesses in the mysterious world of de la Mare - and the Searle 'I hear an army marching' transcends the prevailing mood.

The whole conception is a generous Maeceanas-like effort on the part of Dr David Wright, composer and musicologist from the Isle of Wight - and here participating with two cheerful carols written in his schooldays. He has personally covered three-quarters of the cost 'pour encourager les autres'. I wish him success.

The technically assured and expressive voice of Judith Buckle, despite her involvement since the 1970s with oratorio, opera and theatrical work, is also a 'discovery', her enunciation bright and clear. This helps to overcome the absence of poetic text. The pianist, Peter Bailey, equally technically assured, is as fine an accompanist as I have ever heard. In the later pieces on the disc, in particular the songs of Ian Venables, he is truly a partner and not simply an accompanist.

The recording itself is crisp, the balance excellent - a very fine disc indeed.

Colin Scott-Sutherland 

see also

Judith Buckle - performer by David Wright

Performers Portrait - Judith Buckle by David Wright

CD review Judith Buckle- a song recital reviewqed by David Wright



 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.