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Somervell: A Shropshire Lad & Maud / Williams, Allan
SOMM Recordings

Somervell: A Shropshire Lad & Maud / Williams, Allan

$20.99

Details

Composer
SOMERVELL, SIR ARTHUR
Artist
Williams, Allan
Format
CD
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
May 15, 2020
Catalog #
SOMMCD 0615
UPC
748871061521

About

SOMM Recordings announces an important new recording of two classic English song cycles by Sir Arthur Somervell – Maud and A Shropshire Lad – from the acclaimed partnership of baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Susie Allan. Hailed as “the English Schumann” for his mastery of song setting, song cycles in particular, Somervell’s music is marked by a distinctive blend of lyricism and harmony that makes itself indelibly felt in these two seminal works of the English song repertoire. His first cycle, Maud, setting 13 poems from Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s dark monodrama, was first performed in 1899 at the height of a fashion for recitals of songs sung in English. An intense, impassioned portrayal of infatuation, it is marked by remarkably eloquent and revealing relationships between voice and text, and voice and piano. Composed in 1904, the 10 poems from A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad portray a young man wistfully contemplating nature, life and love at the age of 20 before following him through a life full of incident, the horror of the First World War and growing self-awareness. It prompted from Somervell texturally rich and varied music shot through with an aching lyricism all the more powerful and potent for its folk song-like simplicity and directness. Completing the recital are the enchanting, ever-popular lullaby Shepherd’s Cradle Song and wistful tale of childhood sweethearts with texts by Edgar Allan Poe, A Kingdom by the Sea. British music authority Jeremy Dibble provides informative booklet notes and Roderick Williams a revealing take on Somervell’s music from a singer’s perspective.

Tracklist 25 tracks

  1. 1 I hate the dreadful hollow 01:44
    Track
    1
    Title
    I hate the dreadful hollow
    Duration
    01:44
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  2. 2 A voice by the cedar tree 03:59
    Track
    2
    Title
    A voice by the cedar tree
    Duration
    03:59
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  3. 3 She came to the village church 01:24
    Track
    3
    Title
    She came to the village church
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  4. 4 O let the solid ground 01:08
    Track
    4
    Title
    O let the solid ground
    Duration
    01:08
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  5. 5 Birds in the high Hall-garden 02:40
    Track
    5
    Title
    Birds in the high Hall-garden
    Duration
    02:40
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  6. 6 Maud has a garden 01:43
    Track
    6
    Title
    Maud has a garden
    Duration
    01:43
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  7. 7 Go not, happy day 01:35
    Track
    7
    Title
    Go not, happy day
    Duration
    01:35
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  8. 8 I have led her home 02:35
    Track
    8
    Title
    I have led her home
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  9. 9 Come into the garden, Maud 03:28
    Track
    9
    Title
    Come into the garden, Maud
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  10. 10 The fault was mine 03:40
    Track
    10
    Title
    The fault was mine
    Duration
    03:40
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  11. 11 Dead, long dead 04:08
    Track
    11
    Title
    Dead, long dead
    Duration
    04:08
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  12. 12 O that 'twere possible 01:45
    Track
    12
    Title
    O that 'twere possible
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  13. 13 My life has crept so long 05:12
    Track
    13
    Title
    My life has crept so long
    Duration
    05:12
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  14. 14 A Kingdom by the Sea 03:36
    Track
    14
    Title
    A Kingdom by the Sea
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  15. 15 Loveliest of trees 01:52
    Track
    15
    Title
    Loveliest of trees
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  16. 16 When I was one-and-twenty 01:09
    Track
    16
    Title
    When I was one-and-twenty
    Duration
    01:09
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  17. 17 There pass the careless people 01:25
    Track
    17
    Title
    There pass the careless people
    Duration
    01:25
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  18. 18 In Summertime on Bredon 03:11
    Track
    18
    Title
    In Summertime on Bredon
    Duration
    03:11
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  19. 19 The street sounds to the soldiers' tread 02:00
    Track
    19
    Title
    The street sounds to the soldiers' tread
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  20. 20 On the idle hill of summer 02:23
    Track
    20
    Title
    On the idle hill of summer
    Duration
    02:23
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  21. 21 White in the moon 02:55
    Track
    21
    Title
    White in the moon
    Duration
    02:55
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  22. 22 Think no more, lad 01:43
    Track
    22
    Title
    Think no more, lad
    Duration
    01:43
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  23. 23 Into my heart an air that kills 01:37
    Track
    23
    Title
    Into my heart an air that kills
    Duration
    01:37
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  24. 24 The lads in their hundreds 02:45
    Track
    24
    Title
    The lads in their hundreds
    Duration
    02:45
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  25. 25 Shepherd's Cradle Song 02:35
    Track
    25
    Title
    Shepherd's Cradle Song
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    Arthur Somervell
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan