Chandos
Vaughan Williams: A Cotswold Romance, Death Of Tintagiles
$13.99
Details
- Composer
- VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, RALPH
- Artist
- Hickox, Mannion, Randle, Brook
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Chandos
- Released
- Jul 31, 2012
- Catalog #
- CHAN 10728 X
- UPC
- 095115172827
About
This re-release of two rarely heard works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, A Cotswold Romance and Death of Tintagiles, forms part of the new commemorative Hickox Legacy series on Chandos Records, leading up to (and continuing beyond) the fifth anniversary, in Nov 2013, of the conductor’s untimely death. The recording is released on the Classic Chandos label.
Vaughan Williams composed his ‘ballad-opera’ Hugh the Drover, from which A Cotswold Romance is adapted, between 1910 and 1914. In his own words, he had an idea for an opera written ‘to real English words, with a certain amount of real English music’. The finished product, set in the Cotswold Village of Northleach during the Napoleonic wars, certainly does contain a host of identifiable English elements: the bringing-in of May, the bustling fair, and the prize-fight, for instance. Accommodating his publishers’ request for a version of the music which was more appropriate for concert performance, Vaughan Williams came up with the cantata A Cotswold Romance for tenor and soprano soloists with mixed-voice chorus and orchestra. The writing has the open, fresh, and vital quality that coloured many of Vaughan Williams’s works composed before the First World War.
In contrast, Death of Tintagiles, the incidental music for Maurice Maeterlinck’s play of the same name, is powerfully atmospheric and possesses a strong elegiac quality throughout. In five acts, the play concerns the tragic fate of a young child, Tintagiles, at the hands of his suspicious and jealous grandmother. Vaughan Williams perfectly captures the sense of foreboding and gloom in the play. In its simplicity and overall atmosphere the music recalls both Holst and Sibelius, while in the tender moments there are hints of A London Symphony, too.
BBC Music Magazine wrote of this disc: ‘Richard Hickox directs a vivid performance [of A Cotswold Romance] with splendid support from his assembled forces… Although not major works, these are notable additions to the catalogue, and the performances could hardly be better *****’.
Vaughan Williams composed his ‘ballad-opera’ Hugh the Drover, from which A Cotswold Romance is adapted, between 1910 and 1914. In his own words, he had an idea for an opera written ‘to real English words, with a certain amount of real English music’. The finished product, set in the Cotswold Village of Northleach during the Napoleonic wars, certainly does contain a host of identifiable English elements: the bringing-in of May, the bustling fair, and the prize-fight, for instance. Accommodating his publishers’ request for a version of the music which was more appropriate for concert performance, Vaughan Williams came up with the cantata A Cotswold Romance for tenor and soprano soloists with mixed-voice chorus and orchestra. The writing has the open, fresh, and vital quality that coloured many of Vaughan Williams’s works composed before the First World War.
In contrast, Death of Tintagiles, the incidental music for Maurice Maeterlinck’s play of the same name, is powerfully atmospheric and possesses a strong elegiac quality throughout. In five acts, the play concerns the tragic fate of a young child, Tintagiles, at the hands of his suspicious and jealous grandmother. Vaughan Williams perfectly captures the sense of foreboding and gloom in the play. In its simplicity and overall atmosphere the music recalls both Holst and Sibelius, while in the tender moments there are hints of A London Symphony, too.
BBC Music Magazine wrote of this disc: ‘Richard Hickox directs a vivid performance [of A Cotswold Romance] with splendid support from his assembled forces… Although not major works, these are notable additions to the catalogue, and the performances could hardly be better *****’.
Tracklist 17 tracks
-
1 The Men of Cotsall (Chorus) 03:47
- Track
- 1
- Title
- The Men of Cotsall (Chorus)
- Duration
- 03:47
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Ensemble
- London Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
2 Sweet Little Linnet (Hugh) 01:27
- Track
- 2
- Title
- Sweet Little Linnet (Hugh)
- Duration
- 01:27
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Thomas Randle
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
3 Hugh's Song of the Road (Chorus, Hugh) 04:06
- Track
- 3
- Title
- Hugh's Song of the Road (Chorus, Hugh)
- Duration
- 04:06
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Thomas Randle
- Ensemble
- London Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
4 Love at First Sight (Hugh, Mary, Chorus) 06:05
- Track
- 4
- Title
- Love at First Sight (Hugh, Mary, Chorus)
- Duration
- 06:05
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Thomas Randle, Rosa Mannion
- Ensemble
- London Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
5 The Best Man in England (Baritone solo, Chorus) 02:22
- Track
- 5
- Title
- The Best Man in England (Baritone solo, Chorus)
- Duration
- 02:22
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Matthew Brook
- Ensemble
- London Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
6 Alone and Friendless (Hugh) 02:24
- Track
- 6
- Title
- Alone and Friendless (Hugh)
- Duration
- 02:24
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Thomas Randle
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
7 The Fight and its Sequel (Baritone solo, Mary, Hugh, Chorus) 04:48
- Track
- 7
- Title
- The Fight and its Sequel (Baritone solo, Mary, Hugh, Chorus)
- Duration
- 04:48
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Matthew Brook, Rosa Mannion, Thomas Randle
- Ensemble
- London Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
8 Hugh in the Stocks (Hugh) 01:51
- Track
- 8
- Title
- Hugh in the Stocks (Hugh)
- Duration
- 01:51
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Thomas Randle
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
9 Mary Escapes (Mary, Chorus) 04:28
- Track
- 9
- Title
- Mary Escapes (Mary, Chorus)
- Duration
- 04:28
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Rosa Mannion
- Ensemble
- London Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
10 Freedom at last (Hugh, Mary, Chorus) 07:52
- Track
- 10
- Title
- Freedom at last (Hugh, Mary, Chorus)
- Duration
- 07:52
- Composer
- Maurice Jacobson
- Performer
- Thomas Randle, Rosa Mannion
- Ensemble
- London Philharmonic Choir, London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
11 Prelude: Largo - Andantino - Adagio - 05:37
- Track
- 11
- Title
- Prelude: Largo - Andantino - Adagio -
- Duration
- 05:37
- Composer
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
12 Lento - 01:10
- Track
- 12
- Title
- Lento -
- Duration
- 01:10
- Composer
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
13 Allegro - 00:42
- Track
- 13
- Title
- Allegro -
- Duration
- 00:42
- Composer
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
14 Lento - Andante tranquillo - Lento - 02:51
- Track
- 14
- Title
- Lento - Andante tranquillo - Lento -
- Duration
- 02:51
- Composer
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
15 Moderato - 01:09
- Track
- 15
- Title
- Moderato -
- Duration
- 01:09
- Composer
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
16 Allegro - 01:00
- Track
- 16
- Title
- Allegro -
- Duration
- 01:00
- Composer
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox
-
17 Lento 02:15
- Track
- 17
- Title
- Lento
- Duration
- 02:15
- Composer
- Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Ensemble
- London Symphony Orchestra
- Conductor
- Richard Hickox