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Vaughan Williams - A Birthday Garland / Roderick Williams & Susie Allan
SOMM Recordings

Vaughan Williams - A Birthday Garland / Roderick Williams & Susie Allan

Romantic Romantic Melancholic Virtuosic Dramatic
$20.99

Details

Composer
Ina Boyle, Max Bruch, George Butterworth, Sarah Cattley, Rebecca Clarke, Madeleine Dring, Gerald Fin
Artist
Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
Format
CD
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
Mar 29, 2024
Catalog #
SOMMCD 0683
UPC
748871068322

About

SOMM RECORDINGS is delighted to announce Vaughan Williams – A Birthday Garland, the debut on disc of baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Susie Allan’s popular concert tribute to Ralph Vaughan Williams originally marking the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth in 2022.

Curating a “fantasy birthday party concert” in tribute to “the grand-daddy of 20th-century English song”, Williams has assembled pieces by RVW and 18 fellow composers. The result is a wide-ranging celebration of the rich variety of English song over a century and more that pays tribute to Vaughan Williams’ influence with songs inspired by poets ranging from Shakespeare and Tennyson to W.B. Yeats and Walt Whitman.

First recordings include Herbert Howell’s The Sorrow of Love, a setting of the Irish poet Seamus O’Sullivan; Sarah Cattley’s A Square and Candle-lighted Boat, treating verses by RVW’s cousin, Frances Cornford; and Roderick Williams’ own distinctive take on William Blake’s The Shepherd.

The 30-song recital includes songs by RVW’s teachers (Stanford, Parry, Wood, Bruch, Ravel), friends (Holst, Gurney, Howells, Butterworth, Finzi and others), and pupils (Grace Williams, Ina Boyle, Ruth Gipps, Elizabeth Maconchy and Madeleine Dring). Vaughan Williams’ biographer Simon Heffer provides authoritative booklet notes.

SOMM’s previous Vaughan Williams releases include the widely acclaimed four-volume Vaughan Williams Live series (SOMM ARIADNE 5016, 5018, 5019-2, 5020); Mark Bebbington and Rebeca Omordia’s “compelling” (International Piano) survey of his Piano Music (SOMMCD 0164); and the “priceless document” (MusicWeb International) coupling the Fifth Symphony and Dona nobis pace (SOMMCD 071).

Roderick Williams and Susie Allan’s previous SOMM releases include Celebrating English Song (SOMMCD 0177), lauded by Gramophone as “a treat”; the Ivor Gurney-focused Severn & Somme (SOMM 057), “strongly recommended” by BBC Music Magazine; and Somervell’s A Shropshire Lad and Maud (SOMMCD 0615), “performances of much beauty, empathy and sensitivity” (British Music Society).

Tracklist 30 tracks

  1. 1 The Splendour Falls 03:56
    Track
    1
    Title
    The Splendour Falls
    Duration
    03:56
    Composer
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  2. 2 Fortune and Her Wheel 01:49
    Track
    2
    Title
    Fortune and Her Wheel
    Duration
    01:49
    Composer
    Charles Wood
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  3. 3 Linden Lea 02:40
    Track
    3
    Title
    Linden Lea
    Duration
    02:40
    Composer
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  4. 4 Chanson ecossaise: Ye Banks and Braes O Bonnie Doon 02:54
    Track
    4
    Title
    Chanson ecossaise: Ye Banks and Braes O Bonnie Doon
    Duration
    02:54
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  5. 5 12 Schottische Volkslieder: No. 6. O sahst du den Vater? (O Saw Ye My Father?) 01:32
    Track
    5
    Title
    12 Schottische Volkslieder: No. 6. O sahst du den Vater? (O Saw Ye My Father?)
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Max Bruch
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  6. 6 Down by the Salley Gardens 01:43
    Track
    6
    Title
    Down by the Salley Gardens
    Duration
    01:43
    Composer
    Rebecca Clarke
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  7. 7 2 Welsh Folk Songs: No. 1. Jim Cro 01:00
    Track
    7
    Title
    2 Welsh Folk Songs: No. 1. Jim Cro
    Duration
    01:00
    Composer
    Grace Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  8. 8 11 Folk Songs from Sussex: No. 9. Roving in the dew 01:30
    Track
    8
    Title
    11 Folk Songs from Sussex: No. 9. Roving in the dew
    Duration
    01:30
    Composer
    George Butterworth
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  9. 9 Darest Thou Now, O soul 04:02
    Track
    9
    Title
    Darest Thou Now, O soul
    Duration
    04:02
    Composer
    Gustav Holst
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  10. 10 A Last Invocation 02:47
    Track
    10
    Title
    A Last Invocation
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    Ina Boyle
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  11. 11 Reconciliation 03:06
    Track
    11
    Title
    Reconciliation
    Duration
    03:06
    Composer
    Ivor Gurney
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  12. 12 3 Poems by Walt Whitman: No. 2. A Clear Midnight 01:56
    Track
    12
    Title
    3 Poems by Walt Whitman: No. 2. A Clear Midnight
    Duration
    01:56
    Composer
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  13. 13 Songs of Faith, Op. 97: No. 6. Joy, Shipmate, Joy! 01:49
    Track
    13
    Title
    Songs of Faith, Op. 97: No. 6. Joy, Shipmate, Joy!
    Duration
    01:49
    Composer
    Charles Villiers Stanford
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  14. 14 4 Baritone Songs, Op. 4b: No. 4. The Pulley 03:32
    Track
    14
    Title
    4 Baritone Songs, Op. 4b: No. 4. The Pulley
    Duration
    03:32
    Composer
    Ruth Gipps
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  15. 15 5 Mystical Songs: No. 4. The Call (version for voice and piano) 01:51
    Track
    15
    Title
    5 Mystical Songs: No. 4. The Call (version for voice and piano)
    Duration
    01:51
    Composer
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  16. 16 2 Poems by Seumas O'Sullivan: No. 1. Twilight People 02:32
    Track
    16
    Title
    2 Poems by Seumas O'Sullivan: No. 1. Twilight People
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  17. 17 5 Songs, Op. 2: No. 4. The Sorrow of Love 02:49
    Track
    17
    Title
    5 Songs, Op. 2: No. 4. The Sorrow of Love
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    Herbert Howells
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  18. 18 4 Shakespeare Songs: No. 2. The Wind and the Rain 02:17
    Track
    18
    Title
    4 Shakespeare Songs: No. 2. The Wind and the Rain
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Elizabeth Maconchy
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  19. 19 English Lyrics, Set 6: No. 6. Under the Greenwood Tree 01:40
    Track
    19
    Title
    English Lyrics, Set 6: No. 6. Under the Greenwood Tree
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Hubert Parry
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  20. 20 7 Shakespeare Songs: No. 5. Take, O Take Those Lips Away 03:10
    Track
    20
    Title
    7 Shakespeare Songs: No. 5. Take, O Take Those Lips Away
    Duration
    03:10
    Composer
    Madeleine Dring
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  21. 21 3 Songs from Shakespeare: No. 2. When Icicles Hang by the Wall 01:19
    Track
    21
    Title
    3 Songs from Shakespeare: No. 2. When Icicles Hang by the Wall
    Duration
    01:19
    Composer
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  22. 22 Let Us Garlands Bring, Op. 18: No. 2. Who is Silvia? 01:34
    Track
    22
    Title
    Let Us Garlands Bring, Op. 18: No. 2. Who is Silvia?
    Duration
    01:34
    Composer
    Gerald Finzi
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  23. 23 Songs of Travel: No. 9. I Have Trod the Upward and Downward Slope 02:12
    Track
    23
    Title
    Songs of Travel: No. 9. I Have Trod the Upward and Downward Slope
    Duration
    02:12
    Composer
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  24. 24 4 Last Songs: No. 4. Menelaus 04:31
    Track
    24
    Title
    4 Last Songs: No. 4. Menelaus
    Duration
    04:31
    Composer
    Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  25. 25 No. 1. Bedroom Dawn 03:01
    Track
    25
    Title
    No. 1. Bedroom Dawn
    Duration
    03:01
    Composer
    Sarah Cattley
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  26. 26 No. 2. The Coast: Norfolk 02:38
    Track
    26
    Title
    No. 2. The Coast: Norfolk
    Duration
    02:38
    Composer
    Sarah Cattley
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  27. 27 No. 3. Bicker's Cottage 03:28
    Track
    27
    Title
    No. 3. Bicker's Cottage
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Sarah Cattley
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  28. 28 No. 4. The Country Bedroom 02:18
    Track
    28
    Title
    No. 4. The Country Bedroom
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Sarah Cattley
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  29. 29 No. 5. Waking in the Attic Bedroom 03:36
    Track
    29
    Title
    No. 5. Waking in the Attic Bedroom
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Sarah Cattley
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan
  30. 30 The Shepherd 02:47
    Track
    30
    Title
    The Shepherd
    Duration
    02:47
    Composer
    Roderick Williams
    Performer
    Roderick Williams, Susie Allan