From Britten's prodigious
arrangements of folksongs here is a
selection of twenty-one, all fairly
well-known ones, recorded in 1959 and
1961 with Pears accompanied by Britten
at the piano. This most authentic collection
was previously available on the London
label (released in 1990). As one would
expect, the standard of performance
is outstanding. Britten and Pears have
a tendency to take the songs at a fairly
steady pace, and are not over-sentimental
but bring out the nuances incredibly
effectively. The disc commences with
a gentle, rocking The Foggy Foggy Dew
and includes a beautifully impassioned
Sally in our Alley - exquisitely tender
and moving at the end, a sparkling and
lively The Lincolnshire Poacher, and
an utterly brilliant The bonny Earl
o'Moray. The contrast between bold and
brash, rich and full in The Minstrel
Boy, and heart-meltingly tender and
ethereal in the ensuing How sweet the
Answer is wonderful and demonstrates
Pears' consummate skill and instinctive
grasp of these songs. The disc finishes
on a dynamic note with The Plough Boy,
which is animated, dashing and vivacious.
Pears has gorgeous enunciation and is
a joy to listen to, and - as one might
well guess! - there is a tremendous
rapport between him and Britten, as
they bring these charming songs so alluringly
and evocatively to life. The sound is
excellent, and the choice of songs delightfully
varied. My only quibble would be the
presentation of the sleeve insert -
the notes are not up to the usual Decca
standard, are printed in a fairly awful
type-face (copied directly from the
old London disc, it would seem) and
(as usual for the British Music Collection)
don't include any biographical information
about the performers.
There is a disgraceful
dearth of recordings of Britten’s folksongs
in the catalogues currently, although
good old Hyperion offers a 2-disc set
with Malcolm Martineau accompanying
Lorna Anderson, Regina Nathan and Jamie
MacDougall, and there are some "folksong"
discs available which present a range
of composers and often include a few
songs by Britten. One of my favourite
versions of the Britten folksongs is
the Collins complete edition (including
the unpublished songs), with a fantastic
line-up including Philip Langridge,
Thomas Allen, Felicity Lott and the
BBC Singers, with the Northern Sinfonia,
Graham Johnson and David Owen Norris
providing superlative accompaniment.
Given that this superb and singularly
comprehensive edition is no longer available,
the Decca disc is all the more welcome,
and is a valuable addition to the fantastic
British Music Collection series. This
comes very highly recommended.
Em Marshall
Peter Pears (tenor), Benjamin Britten (piano)
