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SOMM Recordings

The Hills of Dreamland: Orchestral Songs by Elgar / Wordsworth, BBC Concerto Orchestra

$20.99

Details

Composer
ELGAR, EDWARD
Artist
Rudge, Neven, Wordsworth, De Montmollin, Collett
Format
CD
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
Sep 21, 2018
Catalog #
SOMMCD 271-2
UPC
748871227125

About

Somm Recordings is delighted to present a revelatory collection of orchestral songs by Sir Edward Elgar performed by two of today’s most exciting young singers – mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge and baritone Henk Neven – accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth. The Hills of Dreamland takes its title from a line in Elgar’s well-known setting, beautifully still and beseeching, of Arthur L Salmon’s Pleading. Historically the least regarded part of Elgar’s output, his songs contain a treasure-trove of vocal gems and here receive performances of insight, imagination and emotional directness. The Op.59 Song Cycle is an exemplary case in point, 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. Sombre and powerful, The Pipes of Pan boasts colorful imagery and driving rhythmic energy, The River and The Torch wholly Elgarian in their wonderful sonorities. A first recording of the orchestral version of the marching song Follow the Colours shows Elgar at his most patriotic. The complete incidental music for a 1901 staging of WB Yeats’ Grania and Diarmid offers a rare opportunity to experience the full gamut of Elgar’s moving and dramatic evocation of a timeless tale of love in the ancient Irish myth. A bonus album of recordings made under the auspices of the Elgar Society showcases soprano Nathalie de Montmollin and pianist Barry Collett in a collection of piano-accompanied songs. It includes first recordings of the piano version of ‘Winter’ from The Mill Wheel and the world-weary tread of Muleteer’s Serenade, setting words from Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

Tracklist 24 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 No. 1. O soft was the song 02:00
    Track
    1
    Title
    No. 1. O soft was the song
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Henk Neven
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  3. 2 No. 2. Was it some golden star? 02:44
    Track
    2
    Title
    No. 2. Was it some golden star?
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Henk Neven
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  4. 3 No. 3. Twilight 02:50
    Track
    3
    Title
    No. 3. Twilight
    Duration
    02:50
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Henk Neven
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  5. 4 No. 4. The Wind at Dawn 03:43
    Track
    4
    Title
    No. 4. The Wind at Dawn
    Duration
    03:43
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Kathryn Rudge
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  6. 5 No. 5. The Pipes of Pan 03:46
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 5. The Pipes of Pan
    Duration
    03:46
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Henk Neven
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  7. 6 The Torch, Op. 60, No. 1 03:16
    Track
    6
    Title
    The Torch, Op. 60, No. 1
    Duration
    03:16
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Kathryn Rudge
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  8. 7 The River, Op. 60, No. 2 05:24
    Track
    7
    Title
    The River, Op. 60, No. 2
    Duration
    05:24
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Kathryn Rudge
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  9. 8 Pleading, Op. 48 04:02
    Track
    8
    Title
    Pleading, Op. 48
    Duration
    04:02
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Kathryn Rudge
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  10. 9 Follow the Colours 06:38
    Track
    9
    Title
    Follow the Colours
    Duration
    06:38
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Henk Neven
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  11. 10 The King's Way (version for voice and orchestra) 04:28
    Track
    10
    Title
    The King's Way (version for voice and orchestra)
    Duration
    04:28
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Kathryn Rudge
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  12. 11 Incidental Music 03:38
    Track
    11
    Title
    Incidental Music
    Duration
    03:38
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Barry Collett
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  13. 12 Funeral March 07:13
    Track
    12
    Title
    Funeral March
    Duration
    07:13
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  14. 13 There are Seven that Pull the Thread 03:47
    Track
    13
    Title
    There are Seven that Pull the Thread
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Kathryn Rudge
    Ensemble
    BBC Concert Orchestra
    Conductor
    Barry Wordsworth
  15. Disc 2
  16. 1 Like to the Damask Rose 03:08
    Track
    1
    Title
    Like to the Damask Rose
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  17. 2 Shepherd's Song, Op. 16, No. 1 02:04
    Track
    2
    Title
    Shepherd's Song, Op. 16, No. 1
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  18. 3 Dry those fair, those crystal eyes 02:27
    Track
    3
    Title
    Dry those fair, those crystal eyes
    Duration
    02:27
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  19. 4 The Millwheel (Winter) 03:33
    Track
    4
    Title
    The Millwheel (Winter)
    Duration
    03:33
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  20. 5 Muleteers' Song 02:18
    Track
    5
    Title
    Muleteers' Song
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  21. 6 As I laye a-thynkynge 06:57
    Track
    6
    Title
    As I laye a-thynkynge
    Duration
    06:57
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  22. 7 Queen Mary's Song 03:31
    Track
    7
    Title
    Queen Mary's Song
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  23. 8 The Torch, Op. 60, No. 1 02:18
    Track
    8
    Title
    The Torch, Op. 60, No. 1
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  24. 9 The River, Op. 60, No. 2 04:22
    Track
    9
    Title
    The River, Op. 60, No. 2
    Duration
    04:22
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  25. 10 In the Dawn, Op. 41, No. 1 03:11
    Track
    10
    Title
    In the Dawn, Op. 41, No. 1
    Duration
    03:11
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett
  26. 11 Speak, Music, Op. 41, No. 2 02:52
    Track
    11
    Title
    Speak, Music, Op. 41, No. 2
    Duration
    02:52
    Composer
    Edward Elgar
    Performer
    Nathalie de Montmollin, Barry Collett