Finzi: Earth and Air and Rain; By Footpath and Stile; To a Poet
List Price:
Our Price: $4.65
You Save: $4.34 (48%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.87 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Music CD Cover
Performer: Roderick WilliamsComposer: Gerald Finzi
Performer: Ian Burnside
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2006-08-15
Music Label: Naxos
Soundtracks:
- Summer Schemes
- When I Set Out For Lyonesse
- Waiting Both
- The Phantom
- So I Have Fared
- Rollicum-Rorum
- To Lizbie Browne
- The Clock Of The Years
- In A Churchyard
- Proud Songsters
- To A Poet A Thousand Years Hence
- On Parent Knees
- Intrada
- The Birthnight
- June On Castle Hill
- Ode On The Rejection Of St. Cecilia
- Paying Calls
- Where The Picnic Was
- The Oxen
- The Master And The Leaves
- Voices From Things Growing In A Churchyard
- Exeunt Omnes
Free Music Notes for Finzi: Earth and Air and Rain; By Footpath and Stile; To a Poet
Free Music Review: Excellent performances of one near-masterpiece, one charming early work and some extras
Hit: 4 Stars
English song is well represented on disc, but there is certainly room for performances such as these, in particular given Naxos's asking price. Finzi's music might not display a very huge compositional range, but it is always superbly crafted and inventive and displaying a certain individual voice. As a song writer he might not be quite on the level of, say, Warlock, but I wouldn't want to miss out on at least some of the songs here. The disc opens with Earth and Air and Rain, a masterly cycle of Thomas Harding setting composed between 1928 and 1932. The musical settings are marvelously responsive to Hardy's bleak but humane worldview, but also contrastive and nuanced in terms of atmosphere and mood. Highlights are probably the sensitive and touching `To Lizbie Browne' and of course the famous and, well, rollicking `Rollicum-Rorum', but I would also mention the eerily atmospheric In a churchyard.
To a Poet is a miscellany of songs gathered together after Finzi's death from his unpublished works. Unfortunately the collection displays little sense of unity and contains few works of particular interest; one is unfortunately left with the feeling that there was a reason, not just that he ran out of time, that the songs were left unpublished. The final cycle, however, By Footpath and Stile, is an early collection of settings of Hardy (again), this time scored for baritone and string quartet. It is a very effective work indeed, though not quite on the level of mastery displayed in the first cycle on the disc. It is a rather bleak thing on the theme of death and transcience, but there are some really memorable moments in there (this is a world premiere recording, apparently); overall, this is a very appealing score which, while no masterpiece perhaps, deserves the attention of potential listener.
Roderick Williams's warm, poignant baritone voice is eminently suited to the music; indeed he comes across as a master of light and shade and an impressive range of emotion; thoughtful and poignant and dramatic and nimble - and not the least charming and beautiful. His wide range of expressive resources ensures that one can listen to all the cycles here straight through without any feeling of monotony, although he does, I think, do his best in By Footpath and Stile. The contributions from Iain Burnside and the Sacconi Quartet are excellent as well. All in all, a rewarding collection, but I do think I'll recommend those unfamiliar with Finzi's songs to start with the earlier disc in this series.
Classical Music CDs
Music Genres
Top music charts in Classical Music CDs
Winterscapesby London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops:
The Queen, the Bear, and the Bumblebeeby Dini Petty
Childrens Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.40
Price in other shops:
Classical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs CdrRelease date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $25.98
Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99
![Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS] Image](/images/Jose-Carreras-Jubileum-Concert-VHS-1584481471-X.jpg){kind=small}
Jose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops:
![Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS] Image](/images/Tchaikovsky-The-Nutcracker-Nureyev-Park-Royal-Ballet-VHS-156127092X-X.jpg){kind=small}
Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.94
Price in other shops:
![Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS] Image](/images/Lonely-Town-Lonley-Street-Sergeant-Early-Dream-VHS-1561270857-X.jpg){kind=small}
Rambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $24.99
Price in other shops:
Winter Music: Composing the Northby John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.62
Price in other shops:
![Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Puccini-La-Fanciulla-del-West-Santi-Domingo-Neblett-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720382-X.jpg){kind=small}
Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops:
![Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS] Image](/images/Verdi-Falstaff-Giulini-Bruson-Ricciarelli-Nucci-Royal-Opera-Covent-Garden-VHS-0769720358-X.jpg){kind=small}
Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops:
Top Rated Albums
Finzi: Dies Natalis; Farewell To Arms; Two SonnetsRelease date: 2008-04-29; Music CD
Best price: $4.66
Price in other shops:
Finzi: Nocturne; Severn Rhapsody; Eclogue; etcRelease date: 2007-05-08; Music CD
Best price: $11.51
Price in other shops:
Lo the Full Final Sacrifice & Other Choral WorksRelease date: 2003-01-21; Music CD
Best price: $5.32
Price in other shops:
Anthony Rolfe Johnson, Simon Keenlyside - Vaughan Williams: On Wenlock Edge / Five Mystical SongsRelease date: 2003-02-18; Music CD
Best price: $4.65
Price in other shops:
Vaughan Williams: Songs of TravelRelease date: 2005-10-18; Music CD
Best price: $4.65
Price in other shops:
Finzi: A Young Man's Exhortation; Till Earth Outwears; Oh Fair To SeeRelease date: 2007-06-26; Music CD
Best price: $4.35
Price in other shops:
Finzi: Clarinet ConcertoRelease date: 1999-01-19; Music CD
Best price: $4.60
Price in other shops:
Gerald Finzi: I Said to Love; Let Us Garlands Bring; Before and After SummerRelease date: 2005-05-17; Music CD
Best price: $4.60
Price in other shops:
Finzi: Intimations of Immortality; For St. CeciliaRelease date: 2006-05-16; Music CD
Best price: $5.56
Price in other shops:
Finzi: Cello Concerto; Grand Fantasia & Toccata; EclogueRelease date: 2001-11-20; Music CD
Best price: $5.10
Price in other shops: