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SOMM Recordings

Herbert Howells: Partsongs

$20.99

Details

Composer
Herbert Howells
Artist
Nick Salwey, The Mira Ensemble, Nick Salwey
Format
CD
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
Jun 19, 2026
Catalog #
SOMMCD 0725
UPC
748871072527

About

SOMM Recordings is proud to present The Mira Ensemble, taking it's name from the Latin word meaning "wonderful" or "admirable" and comprising professional singers from across the UK. The group was founded in 2025 to champion the extensive, yet little known and often-neglected body of music for upper voices. Their debut disc focuses on the upper-voices repertoire by Herbert Howells, and it features entirely premiere recordings that shine a light on a rarely discussed part of his output. The ensemble is directed by Newcastle-born conductor, composer, academic, editor, and orchestrator Tom Edney. They're accompanied by pianist Nick Salwey, who has performed live on BBC Radio 3, ITV, Channel 4, and Classic FM. Nick taught at Oxford, Eton College, and Winchester College, where he was Head of Piano from 2005 to 2025, and where he continues to teach and work as accompanist. Herbert Howells (1892-1983) composed a significant body of lyrical, often pastoral partsongs characterized by rich harmony and expressive text-setting. Early partsongs featured on this disc include The Shepherd, a setting of William Blake; A Croon from an old cradle song; An Old Man's Lullaby by Elizabethan Thomas Dekker; and A Tinker's Song, an anonymous old London song from 1667. Two unison songs from the 1920s-an old rhyme The Wonderful Derby Ram and a Spanish Lullaby-hint at Howells's own childhood singing experiences. A Golden Lullaby is another setting of An Old Man's Lullaby by Dekker, and Howells's different approaches to voicing are striking. My Master Hath a Garden, on an anonymous text, reflects the influence of Gustav Holst, while the old rhyme Sing Ivy evokes some of Holst's folk song arrangements-though it shifts midway to a sound reminiscent of Tudor keyboard music. Howells's interest in dance forms grew from his fascination with English Tudor music, and he adopted a Sarabande in setting a text by the late-Elizabethan Thomas Campion, Tune thy Music. In the early 1930s, Howells dedicated a setting of one of Walter de la Mare's miniatures, Bunches of Grapes, to his two children. In similarly light-hearted vein, Sea Urchins with texts by Gladys Balcomb describes a seaside holiday across ten movements. Two poetic meditations on Elizabeth texts-Sweet Content by Robert Greene and To Music Bent by Campion-also come from this decade. Howells lost his nine-year-old son to polio in 1935, and Piping down the Valleys Wild-William Blake's depiction of a divine child asking the piper to continue to play-is the bittersweet offering of a grieving parent. Howells composed fewer upper-voices partsongs after the Second World War. Featured among these are The Key of the Kingdom, another de la Mare text adapted from an old rhyme; Pink Almond, with a text by the Irish writer Katharine Tynan, in Sarabande form; and the delightful A Christmas Carol, to a text by 17th century writer George Wither, composed on Christmas Day in 1957.

Tracklist 28 tracks

  1. 1 The wonderful Derby ram 01:31
    Track
    1
    Title
    The wonderful Derby ram
    Duration
    01:31
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  2. 2 Sweet content 02:04
    Track
    2
    Title
    Sweet content
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  3. 3 Piping down the valleys wild 03:09
    Track
    3
    Title
    Piping down the valleys wild
    Duration
    03:09
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  4. 4 5 Partsongs, Op. 11: No. 3. A croon 02:32
    Track
    4
    Title
    5 Partsongs, Op. 11: No. 3. A croon
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  5. 5 My master hath a garden 02:26
    Track
    5
    Title
    My master hath a garden
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  6. 6 The Key of the Kingdom 01:38
    Track
    6
    Title
    The Key of the Kingdom
    Duration
    01:38
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  7. 7 Sing ivy 02:03
    Track
    7
    Title
    Sing ivy
    Duration
    02:03
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  8. 8 To music bent 03:41
    Track
    8
    Title
    To music bent
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  9. 9 A golden lullaby 03:41
    Track
    9
    Title
    A golden lullaby
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  10. 10 Bunches of grapes 01:18
    Track
    10
    Title
    Bunches of grapes
    Duration
    01:18
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  11. 11 Pink Almond 03:02
    Track
    11
    Title
    Pink Almond
    Duration
    03:02
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  12. 12 A Christmas Carol 02:16
    Track
    12
    Title
    A Christmas Carol
    Duration
    02:16
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  13. 13 5 Partsongs, Op. 11: No. 1. The shepherd 02:53
    Track
    13
    Title
    5 Partsongs, Op. 11: No. 1. The shepherd
    Duration
    02:53
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  14. 14 Spanish lullaby 01:46
    Track
    14
    Title
    Spanish lullaby
    Duration
    01:46
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  15. 15 Overture 02:08
    Track
    15
    Title
    Overture
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
  16. 16 No. 1. Happy Street 01:54
    Track
    16
    Title
    No. 1. Happy Street
    Duration
    01:54
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  17. 17 No. 2. Many Rainbows 01:45
    Track
    17
    Title
    No. 2. Many Rainbows
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  18. 18 No. 3. The Sea-Side Landlady 01:13
    Track
    18
    Title
    No. 3. The Sea-Side Landlady
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  19. 19 No. 4. Granny sits beside the sea 01:40
    Track
    19
    Title
    No. 4. Granny sits beside the sea
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  20. 20 No. 5. The Barrel-Organ 01:31
    Track
    20
    Title
    No. 5. The Barrel-Organ
    Duration
    01:31
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  21. 21 No. 6. A Seaside Lullaby 01:55
    Track
    21
    Title
    No. 6. A Seaside Lullaby
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  22. 22 No. 7. The Lair on the Cliff 02:09
    Track
    22
    Title
    No. 7. The Lair on the Cliff
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  23. 23 No. 8. Lindy's Ballet Shoes 01:15
    Track
    23
    Title
    No. 8. Lindy's Ballet Shoes
    Duration
    01:15
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  24. 24 No. 9. The Musical Train 01:19
    Track
    24
    Title
    No. 9. The Musical Train
    Duration
    01:19
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  25. 25 No. 10. The Open Air 02:14
    Track
    25
    Title
    No. 10. The Open Air
    Duration
    02:14
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  26. 26 An old man's lullaby 02:26
    Track
    26
    Title
    An old man's lullaby
    Duration
    02:26
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  27. 27 The Tinker's Song 01:48
    Track
    27
    Title
    The Tinker's Song
    Duration
    01:48
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney
  28. 28 Tune thy music 02:02
    Track
    28
    Title
    Tune thy music
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Nick Salwey
    Ensemble
    The Mira Ensemble
    Conductor
    Tom Edney