Britten: Folk Song Arrangements

Britten: Folk Song Arrangements

Britten: Folk Song Arrangements
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Music CD Cover

Performer: Felicity Lott
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2005-03-22
Music Label: Naxos
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. The Salley Gardens
  2. Little Sir William
  3. The Bonny Earl O' Moray
  4. O Can Y Sew Cushions?
  5. The Trees They Grow So High
  6. The Ash Grove
  7. Oliver Cromwell
  8. Greensleeves - Philip Langridge
  9. I Wonder As I Wander - Philip Langridge
  10. The Crocodile - Philip Langridge
  11. The Plough Boy
  12. There's One To Soothe
  13. Sweet Polly Oliver
  14. The Miller Of Dee
  15. The Foggy, Foggy Dew
  16. O Waly, Waly
  17. Come You Not From Newcastle?
  18. Pray Goody - Philip Langridge
  19. The Brisk Young Widow
  20. Sally In Our Alley
  21. The Lincolnshire Poacher
  22. Early One Morning
  23. Ca' The Yowes
  24. The Holly And The Ivy
  25. Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?
  26. The Deaf Woman's Courtship
Music CD 2
  1. Avengin And Bright
  2. Sail On, Sail On
  3. How Sweet The Answer
  4. The Minstrel Boy
  5. At The Mid Hour Of Night
  6. Rich And Rare
  7. Dear Harp Of My Country!
  8. Oft In The Stilly Night
  9. The Last Rose Of Summer
  10. O The Sight Entrancing
  11. La Noel Passee
  12. Voici Le Printemps
  13. Fileuse
  14. Le Roi S'en Va-T'en Chasse
  15. La Belle Est Au Jardin D'amour
  16. Il Est Quelqu'un Sur Terre
  17. Eho! Eho!
  18. Quand J'etais Chez Mon Pere
  19. I Will Give My Love An Apple - Carlos Bonell
  20. Sailor-Boy - Carlos Bonell
  21. Master Kilby - Carlos Bonell
  22. The Soldier And The Sailor - Carlos Bonell
  23. Bonny At Morn - Carlos Bonell
  24. The Shooting Of His Dear - Carlos Bonell
  25. German Folk Song: The Stream In The Valley - Christopher van Kampen
  26. Unidentified Folk Song Setting - Christopher van Kampen

Free Music Notes for Britten: Folk Song Arrangements

Free Music Review: A Must For All Britten Admirers
Hit: 5 Stars

Many lovers of Benjamin Britten's music have no idea that he made extraordinary arrangements of many folksongs. And although this 2CD set is part of Naxos's 'English Song Series' and although it mainly contains songs from the Britain (and Ireland), Britten also set French and American folksongs and they are included here as this issue comprises all his voice-and-piano folksong settings. (He also made voice-and-orchestra versions of some of the songs here but they are not included.) His interest in poetry was intense, and as a friend has commented, 'Britten's knowledge of the obscure corners of English poetry would have put many a professor of English to shame.' His interest in making these settings lasted his entire composing life. Over the years he made six numbered collections: Vols 1, 3, 5 & 6 are primarily British (and some American) folksongs; Vol. 2 French; Vol. 4 Moore's Irish Songs. Also included here are several scattered single songs and songs published posthumously for a total of 52 songs in all. They are parceled out between two of the greatest English singers of the day: soprano Dame Felicity Lott and tenor Philip Langridge. They are mostly accompanied by the best English accompanist since Gerald Moore, pianist Graham Johnson. (One group are accompanied by guitarist Carlos Bonell, and a couple feature cellist Christopher van Kampen.)

The piano accompaniments are generally rather spare, tending not to call attention to themselves, but on closer listening one realizes that Britten has used his own easily identifiable harmonic and structural sense (not surprisingly, one of Britten's favorite devices, the canon, occurs repeatedly), always in pursuit of bringing out the literal meaning and, even more so, the psychology of the song at hand. For instance, he mimics the harp in 'Dear Harp of our Country' and 'The Last Rose of Summer' and the spinning of the mill-wheel in 'The Miller of Dee' or of the spinning wheel in 'Fileuse.' There is the yearning upward interval used to accompany the girl's name in 'Sally in Our Alley.' There is the sad tolling of the bell in 'At the mid hour of the night,' the indecisive alternating chords in 'O Waly, Waly.' Many of these songs are familiar, but many are obscure, at least to this writer. Each is so aptly set that one discovers new things on each listening. Some old favorites, like 'Sail On, Sail On' and 'The Ash Grove' are given fresh colorings. I was amused to realize that that silly Monty Python send-up, 'The Lumberjack Song,' uses (approximately) the tune of 'The Foggy, Foggy Dew' (set here to a melody different than the one I know from my youth).

The performances, not surprisingly, are about as good as they get. I cannot forget the sound of Janet Baker's voice in 'O Waly, Waly,' but this is no criticism of Lott's version, which is also touchingly effective. Langridge, whose diction is a marvel, is similarly effective in such favorites as 'The Plough Boy,' 'The Foggy, Foggy Dew,' and 'The Minstrel Boy.' Is there a more sensitive accompanist than Graham Johnson? I don't think so. I will admit that am not fond of the guitar (clearly my own idiosyncratic taste) but Carlos Bonell is effective in his accompaniment of Vol. 6, which includes 'I will give my love an apple' and 'Bonny at Morn' among others. At the end of CD2 is a song with cello obbligato played by Christopher van Kampen, and an unknown folksong that, in the absence of text, is given to the cello. The texts, too, are worth studying for their folk-wisdom. I was particularly struck by this line from 'Pray Goody': "Remember when the judgement's weak, the prejudice is strong." ('Pray Goody' also has an especially effective piano accompaniment that requires virtuosic control by the pianist.)

Anyone interested in the music of Britten really ought to own this set. It is an aspect of his art that should not be missed.

2CDs TT=132:47

Scott Morrison
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