Bushes and Briars
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Benjamin Britten, Arnold (Edward Trevor) Bax, Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Peter Warlock, Frederick Delius, Herbert Howells
Label: British Composers
Magazine Review Date: 2/1996
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 149
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: 565123-2

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Bushes and briars |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
Loch Lomond |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor Ian Partridge, Tenor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
John Dory |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
Greensleeves |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
Ward the Pirate |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
Ca' the Yowes |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor Ian Partridge, Tenor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
(The) unquiet grave |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
(The) Seeds of Love |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor Geoffrey Shaw, Bass London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
Early in the spring |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
(The) Turtle Dove |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor Christopher Keyte, Bass London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
(An) Acre of Land |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer Susan Longfield, Soprano |
(5) English Folksongs |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Christopher Bishop, Conductor London Madrigal Singers Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
(The) Homecoming |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
Rig Veda - Group 4, Movement: Hymn to Manas |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(8) Canons, Movement: The fields of sorrow |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(8) Canons, Movement: David's lament for Jonathan |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(8) Canons, Movement: Truth of all truth |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(6) Choral Folk Songs, Movement: I sowed the seeds of love |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(6) Choral Folk Songs, Movement: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(6) Choral Folk Songs, Movement: The Song of the Blacksmith |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(6) Choral Folk Songs, Movement: I love my love |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(6) Choral Folk Songs, Movement: Swansea Town |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer |
(6) Male Choruses, Movement: Intercession |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London English Chamber Orchestra Gustav Holst, Composer Ian Humphris, Conductor |
(6) Male Choruses, Movement: Good Friday |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London English Chamber Orchestra Gustav Holst, Composer Ian Humphris, Conductor |
(6) Male Choruses, Movement: Drinking song |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London English Chamber Orchestra Gustav Holst, Composer Ian Humphris, Conductor |
(6) Male Choruses, Movement: A love song |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London English Chamber Orchestra Gustav Holst, Composer Ian Humphris, Conductor |
(6) Male Choruses, Movement: Before sleep |
Gustav Holst, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London English Chamber Orchestra Gustav Holst, Composer Ian Humphris, Conductor |
(A) Dirge for Two Veterans |
Gustav Holst, Composer
(Philip) Jones Brass Ensemble Baccholian Singers of London Gustav Holst, Composer Ian Humphris, Conductor |
(5) Partsongs from the Greek Anthology |
Edward Elgar, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Edward Elgar, Composer |
(The) Wanderer |
Edward Elgar, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Edward Elgar, Composer |
Reveille |
Edward Elgar, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Edward Elgar, Composer |
(5) English Folksongs, Movement: Wassail song |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
(A) Dirge |
Herbert Howells, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Herbert Howells, Composer |
(The) Boar's Head |
Arnold (Edward Trevor) Bax, Composer
Arnold (Edward Trevor) Bax, Composer Baccholian Singers of London |
Wanderer's Song |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Frederick Delius, Composer |
(The) Shrouding of the Duchess of Malfi |
Peter Warlock, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Peter Warlock, Composer |
(The) Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard |
Benjamin Britten, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Benjamin Britten, Composer |
(The) lady's birthday |
Peter Warlock, Composer
Baccholian Singers of London Jennifer Partridge, Piano Peter Warlock, Composer |
Author:
The two CDs bring together, very suitably, three LPs recorded within a few years of one another. They were welcomed in their time, though Trevor Harvey had some pertinent observations to make about the first. This is of Christopher Bishop’s madrigal singers in the Vaughan Williams folk-song arrangements, where TH wanted more pace and more passion. “The singers must seem possessed by the thought of what the words really imply” in “The springtime of the year” (Five English Folksongs), and “this lack of intensity in interpretation becomes more serious in The Turtle Dove”. As he says, “the music should move on a bit”; and (as he does not say) it isn’t merely a question of the set tempo but the literalness of the reading – a quaver equals a quaver and that’s it, whereas the idiom essentially involves flexibility in the treatment of words and music.
For the rest, these performances deserve only praise. The Baccholians are particularly good in their rhythmic alertness, catching perfectly the subdued excitement of the Wassail song and the tricky syncopations of The song of the blacksmith. And what fine, fresh, considered and considerate compositions they are! The Six Choral Folk Songs of Holst are rich in variety, while the Six Choruses with strings have an equally satisfying unity. The Dirge for Two Veterans is a masterpiece, and indeed much could be said about them all which will have to go unsaid. Fortunately, it is hearing rather than ‘saying’ that really matters, and hearing is highly recommended.
'
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