EDWARD ELGAR (1857-1934): Orchestral Songs: Oh, soft was the song, Op. 59/3, Was it some golden star?, Op. 59/5, Twilight, Op. 59/6, The Wind at Dawn, The Pipes of Pan, 2 Songs, Op. 60, Pleading, Op. 48, The King’s Way, Follow the Colours: Marching Song for Soldiers (orchestral version), Incidental Music to Grania and Diarmid (Kathryn Rudge [mezzo], Henk Neven [baritone], BBC Concert Orchestra; Barry Wordsworth), Elgar Society Bonus CD - Songs: Like to the Damask Rose, The Shepherd’s Song, Dry those fair, those crystal eyes, The Mill Wheel: Winter*, Muleteer’s Serenade*, As I laye a-thynkynge, Queen Mary’s Song, The Torch, The River, In the Dawn, Speak, music (* - First Recordings. Nathalie de Montmollin [soprano], Barry Collett [piano]).
Catalogue Number: 10U041
Label: SOMM
Reference: CD 271-2
Format: CD
Price: $18.98
Description: Elgar’s songs whether orchestral or with piano have long been considered the least of his accomplishments, often due to the quality of the texts he set but there is much beautiful music in them. A case in point is the three-song Op. 59, by turns quietly radiant, touchingly nostalgic and achingly melancholic. Two settings of poems by Elgar’s wife – the richly orchestrated The Wind at Dawn and celebratory The King’s Way– show Elgar at his most evocative and ebullient. Somber and powerful, The Pipes of Pan boasts colorful imagery and driving rhythmic energy. Texts included. 2 CDs for the price of 1.
