This Sony release entitled ‘Songs of War’ comprises twenty-nine
songs. Simon Keenlyside has predominantly chosen works by English
composers and just over half the songs are settings of text
by A.E. Housman. I found the title of this collection rather
misleading as inspection revealed that the songs are certainly
not all settings of texts concerned with war. Adding to the
‘war song’ impression the CD cover contains a sepia photograph
of a British officer in the trenches writing a letter home.
All but one of the composers lived through the Great War (World
War 1) and had been affected by its death and destruction in
varying degrees; that doesn’t make all these compositions war
songs. A number of the songs have overt war content such as
An Incident, The Street Sounds To The Soldiers’
Tread, Beat! Beat! Drums! and Dirge For Two
Veterans. Keenlyside explains that songs such as Sea
Fever and The Vagabond are included because they
“reflect something of the restlessness of so many
old soldiers once conflicts are over.” Other songs such
as O Fair Enough Are Sky And Plain and In Flanders
clearly represent the sense of nostalgic yearning that a soldier
posted overseas might feel for his homeland. A number of the
composers included here - John Ireland, Ralph Vaughan Williams,
George Butterworth, Arthur Somervell and Ivor Gurney - had attended
the Royal College of Music at the time of Parry and Stanford.
The RCM had been greatly affected by the terrible consequences
of the Great War and all who went there knew fellow students,
masters, friends and family members who had fought and were
injured or died in the conflict. In fact Vaughan Williams, Gurney
and Butterworth had all served in the Great War themselves with
Butterworth sadly losing his life.
There is not a dud track on the whole release and one of my
favourite songs John Ireland’s Sea Fever, a setting
of John Masefield opens the release. I also greatly enjoyed
Keenlyside’s expressive rendition of the Six Songs from A
Shropshire Lad, popular texts from the poet A.E. Housman
that have been set by various composers over the years. The
Housman settings Loveliest Of Trees and Is My Team
Ploughing? are given especially fine performances, so touching
and sensitive in a direct way. Frederick William Harvey’s poem
In Flanders was actually put to music by Ivor Gurney
whilst he was serving in the Flanders trenches. Commencing with
the words “I'm homesick for my hills again - My hills
again!” the setting so poignantly reflects Gurney’s intense
longing to be back in his beloved Cotswolds. It is most captivatingly
interpreted. Gratitude is in order to pianist Malcolm Martineau
for providing sensitive accompaniment throughout.
This splendid release doesn’t just include what can be described
as English ‘art songs’. There are Walt Whitman settings by two
non-English composers Beat! Beat! Drums! and Dirge
For Two Veterans from the German/American Kurt Weill and
An Incident from Ned Rorem, an American. In this collection
Keenlyside has resisted the temptation to include English songs
from the trio of English composers who perished in the Great
War namely W. Dennis Browne; Ernest Farrar and Frederick Kelly
- Australian by birth but English by adoption, being educated
at Eton and Oxford.
I’m an admirer of the marvellous singing and acting of the talented
Simon Keenlyside. The last time I heard him in performance was
in May 2011 singing the title role in Phyllida Lloyd’s production
of Verdi’s Macbeth from the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden. In ‘Songs of War’ his lyric baritone is sturdy and often
dramatic affording a wide range of colours. One senses how much
he loves the intimacy of performing these evocative works. As
much as I have enjoyed Keenlyside’s interpretations in this
type of repertoire I cannot look further than the magnificent
baritone voice of Benjamin Luxon. I have several treasured discs
of Luxon singing English ‘art songs’ by Vaughan Williams, Gurney,
Ireland, Butterworth et al and remain captivated by
the depth of expression that the baritone’s voice so confidently
conveys. Luxon is eminently suited to this repertoire and displays
impressive diction with a deep perception that contains just
the right balance of character and empathy. I strongly recommend
Luxon with pianist David Willison performing a collection of
George Butterworth and Ivor Gurney songs from 1989 at Snape
Maltings, Suffolk on Chandos CHAN 8831, a disc of Vaughan Williams
songs with Willison from 1986 also at Snape Maltings on Chandos
CHAN 8475 and performing a selection of John Ireland songs with
pianist Alan Rowlands from 1972/78 at St John’s Smith Square,
London on Lyrita SRCD.2261.
Simon Keenlyside is on excellent form for Sony with the present
collection. Recorded at Potton Hall in Suffolk the sound is
of high quality. Sony is to be congratulated for providing full
song texts in the booklet.
Michael Cookson
Track listing
John IRELAND (1879-1962)
1. Sea Fever [2:19]
Sir Arthur SOMERVELL (1863-1937)
2. Into My Heart An Air That Kills [1:31]
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
3. Youth And Love [3:16]
4. The Infinite Shining Heavens [2:14]
George BUTTERWORTH (1885-1916)
Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad (1911):
5. Loveliest Of Trees [2:28]
6. When I Was One - And - Twenty [1:22]
7. Look Not In My Eyes [1:59]
8. Think No More, Lad [1:27]
9. The Lads In Their Hundreds [2:15]
10. Is My Team Ploughing? [3:17]
Sir Arthur SOMERVELL (1863-1937)
11. There Pass The Careless People [1:11]
Peter WARLOCK (1894-1930)
12. The Night [1:57]
Sir Arthur SOMERVELL (1863-1937)
13. White In The Moon [2:46]
George BUTTERWORTH (1885-1916)
14. Bredon Hill [4:20]
15. O Fair Enough Are Sky And Plain [2:28]
16. When The Lad For Longing Sighs [1:40]
17. On The Idle Hill Of Summer [2:58]
18. With Rue My Heart Is Laden [1:38]
John IRELAND (1879-1962)
19. The Vagabond [1:48]
TRADITIONAL arranged John
IRELAND (1879-1962)
20. The Three Ravens [3:23]
Gerald FINZI (1901-1956)
21. Fear No More The Heat O’ The Sun [5:02]
Frank BRIDGE (1879-1941)
22. Thy Hand In Mine [2:54]
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
23. The Vagabond [3:12]
Ned ROREM (b. 1923)
24. An Incident [1:56]
Ivor GURNEY (1890-1937)
25. When Death To Either Shall Come [1:20]
26. In Flanders [2:50]
Sir Arthur SOMERVELL (1863-1937)
27. The Street Sounds To The Soldiers’ Tread [2:05]
Kurt WEILL (1900-1950)
28. Beat! Beat! Drums! [3:18]
29. Dirge For Two Veterans [4:11]
Simon Keenlyside (baritone)