100 Years of British Song - 2

ELIZABETH MACONCHY (1907-1994): 3 Donne Songs, DOREEN CARWITHEN (1922-2003): Serenade, Noon, Echo (Seven Sweet Notes), The Ride-by-Nights, Clear Had the Day Been, Slow Spring, Echo (Who Called?) (Preceding songs are all First Recordings), WILLIAM ALWYN (1905-1985): A Leave-Taking, ALAN BUSH (1900-1995) & ALAN RAWSTHORNE (1905-1971): Prison Cycle, RAWSTHORNE: 2 Songs to Poems of John Fletcher.

Description: This volume focuses on five composers whose belated involvement with song straddled the Second World War. Maconchy’s Three Donne Songs are described by Williamson in his informative booklet notes as “substantial, ambitious songs, imbued with a genuine sense of drama by an assured composer at the height of her powers”. Carwithen’s seven miniatures represent her complete song output and display, as Williamson notes, “the most imaginative and creative writing… real gems revealing the seeds of a truly imaginative and expressive musical personality”. Alwyn’s A Leave-Taking deftly counterbalances the obvious influence of German romanticism with music of striking, involving simplicity. Rawsthorne’s Two Songs to Poems of John Fletcher combine Elizabethan counterpoint with music hall humor. Rawsthorne also contributes to Prison Cycle alongside Alan Bush, a vivid setting of political texts by the German socialist playwright and poet Ernst Toller. Texts included. James Gilchrist (tenor), Nathan Williamson (piano).