Ian Bostridge - The English Songbook
A delightful celebration of British song chosen by the tenor of the moment, Ian Bostridge, with his regular accompanist Julius Drake
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Benjamin Britten, William Charles Denis Browne, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Peter Warlock, Ivor (Bertie) Gurney, Charles Villiers Stanford, Roger Quilter, Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Arthur Somervell, (George) Percy (Aldridge) Grainger, Traditional, Frederick Delius, Thomas Frederick Dunhill, Edward German, (Charles) Hubert (Hastings) Parry
Label: EMI
Magazine Review Date: 13/1999
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 69
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 556830-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (La) Belle Dame sans merci |
Charles Villiers Stanford, Composer
Charles Villiers Stanford, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| (The) House of Life, Movement: No. 2, Silent Noon |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
| Linden Lea |
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer |
| (7) Songs from the Norwegian, Movement: Evening Voices, or Twilight Fancies (wds. B. Bjö |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| (3) Songs, Movement: No. 2, Now sleeps the crimson petal (wds. Tennyson |
Roger Quilter, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Roger Quilter, Composer |
| (3) Shakespeare Songs, Movement: Come Away Death |
Roger Quilter, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Roger Quilter, Composer |
| Jillian of Berry |
Peter Warlock, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Peter Warlock, Composer |
| Sleep |
Ivor (Bertie) Gurney, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Ivor (Bertie) Gurney, Composer Julius Drake, Piano |
| I will go with my father a-ploughing |
Ivor (Bertie) Gurney, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Ivor (Bertie) Gurney, Composer Julius Drake, Piano |
| (The) Cloths of Heaven |
Thomas Frederick Dunhill, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Thomas Frederick Dunhill, Composer |
| To Gratiana dancing and singing |
William Charles Denis Browne, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano William Charles Denis Browne, Composer |
| To Lucasta, on going to the Wars |
Arthur Somervell, Composer
Arthur Somervell, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| Orpheus with his lute |
Edward German, Composer
Edward German, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| Cradle Song |
Peter Warlock, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Peter Warlock, Composer |
| (A) Young Man's Exhortation, Movement: The dance continued |
Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Composer
Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| (50) Songs of Old Ireland, Movement: My love's an arbutus |
Charles Villiers Stanford, Composer
Charles Villiers Stanford, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| (The) Death of Queen Jane |
Traditional, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Traditional, Composer |
| English Lyrics, Set 2, Movement: No longer mourn for me |
(Charles) Hubert (Hastings) Parry, Composer
(Charles) Hubert (Hastings) Parry, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| Oh fair to see, Movement: Since we loved (wds R Bridges) |
Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Composer
Gerald (Raphael) Finzi, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| Folk Song Arrangements, Movement: The Salley Gardens (also unison vv and piano) |
Benjamin Britten, Composer
Benjamin Britten, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| Rest, sweet nymphs |
Peter Warlock, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Peter Warlock, Composer |
| Bold William Taylor |
(George) Percy (Aldridge) Grainger, Composer
(George) Percy (Aldridge) Grainger, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano |
| Brigg Fair |
(George) Percy (Aldridge) Grainger, Composer
(George) Percy (Aldridge) Grainger, Composer Ian Bostridge, Tenor Polyphony Stephen Layton, Conductor |
| (The) Little Turtle Dove |
Traditional, Composer
Ian Bostridge, Tenor Julius Drake, Piano Traditional, Composer |
Author: John Steane
The recital begins with Keats and ends with Shakespeare: that can’t be bad. But it also begins with Stanford and ends with Parry; and what would the modernists of their time have thought about that? They would probably not have believed that in the year 1999 those two pillars of the old musical establishment would still be standing. And in fact how well all (or very nearly all) of these composers stand! Quilter, for instance. He is one whose mild drawing-room manners might have been expected to doom him, but the three songs here - the affectionate, easy grace of his Tennyson setting, the restrained passion of his Come away, death and the infectious zest of I will go with my father a-ploughing - endear him afresh and demonstrate once again the wisdom of artists who recognize their own small area of ‘personal truth’ and refuse to betray it in exchange for a more fashionable ‘originality’. It is so with Finzi, too, whose feeling for Hardy’s poems is so modestly affirmed in The dance continued. And does that, incidentally, make deliberate reference, at ‘those songs we sang when we went gipsying’, to Jillian of Berry by Warlock (whose originality speaks for itself) ?
Jillian of Berry is one of the songs that perhaps calls for more full-bodied, less refined tones than Bostridge’s. As ‘brown-leaved fruits are turning red’ in Linden Lea, so one could do with a ruddier glow and more rotund fruitiness in the voice. Yet for most of the programme he is not merely a well-suited singer but an artist who brings wonderfully complete responsiveness to both words and music. The haunted desolation of Delius’s Twilight Fancie s is perfectly caught in the pale hue of the voice which can nevertheless give body and intensity to the frank cry of desire, calming then to pianissimo for the last phrase amid the dim echoes of hunting horns in the piano part.
Julius Drake plays throughout with strength of imagination and technical control to match Bostridge’s own. Mostly, the accompaniments are not difficult in a technical sense, but there is a world of difference between the usual playing of The salley gardens and the subtly dream-like mood cast over the song by the delicate shading and balancing achieved here: and in a song such as W. Dennis Browne’s ‘allmayne’ To Gratiana dancing and singing the genuine difficulties are concealed by this pianist’s sensitive touch and graceful movement. It is a delightful record, with composers and poets, singer and pianist, producer and engineer all contributing their apt and finely trained skills.'
Jillian of Berry is one of the songs that perhaps calls for more full-bodied, less refined tones than Bostridge’s. As ‘brown-leaved fruits are turning red’ in Linden Lea, so one could do with a ruddier glow and more rotund fruitiness in the voice. Yet for most of the programme he is not merely a well-suited singer but an artist who brings wonderfully complete responsiveness to both words and music. The haunted desolation of Delius’s Twilight Fancie s is perfectly caught in the pale hue of the voice which can nevertheless give body and intensity to the frank cry of desire, calming then to pianissimo for the last phrase amid the dim echoes of hunting horns in the piano part.
Julius Drake plays throughout with strength of imagination and technical control to match Bostridge’s own. Mostly, the accompaniments are not difficult in a technical sense, but there is a world of difference between the usual playing of The salley gardens and the subtly dream-like mood cast over the song by the delicate shading and balancing achieved here: and in a song such as W. Dennis Browne’s ‘allmayne’ To Gratiana dancing and singing the genuine difficulties are concealed by this pianist’s sensitive touch and graceful movement. It is a delightful record, with composers and poets, singer and pianist, producer and engineer all contributing their apt and finely trained skills.'
Ian Bostridge - The English Songbook
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.