Roderick Williams, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra & Sir Andrew Davis - Elgar: Falstaff & Orchestral Songs (2017) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist
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01. Falstaff, Op. 68: I. Falstaff & Prince Henry
02. Falstaff, Op. 68: IIa. Eastcheap
03. Falstaff, Op. 68: IIb. Gadshill-The Boar's Head-Revelry & Sleep. Allegro molto
04. Falstaff, Op. 68: IIc. Revelry & Sleep. Molto tranquillo
05. Falstaff, Op. 68: IId. Dream Interlude
06. Falstaff, Op. 68: IIIa. Falstaff's March
07. Falstaff, Op. 68: IIIb. The Return Through Gloucestershire
08. Falstaff, Op. 68: IIIc. Interlude. Gloucestershire, Shallow's Orchard
09. Falstaff, Op. 68: IIId. The New King-The Hurried Ride to London
10. Falstaff, Op. 68: IVa. King Henry V's Progress
11. Falstaff, Op. 68: IVb. The Repudiation of Falstaff, and His Death
12. Song Cycle, Op. 59: No. 3, O Soft Was the Song
13. Song Cycle, Op. 59: No. 5, Was It Some Golden Star?
14. Song Cycle, Op. 59: No. 6, Twilight
15. 2 Songs, Op. 60 (Version for Voice & Orchestra): No. 1, The Torch
16. 2 Songs, Op. 60 (Version for Voice & Orchestra): No. 2, The River
17. Grania & Diarmid, Op. 42: I. Moderato
18. Grania & Diarmid, Op. 42: II. Funeral March
19. The Wind at Dawn (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
20. Pipes of Pan (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
21. Pleading, Op. 48 (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
22. The King's Way (Version for Voice & Orchestra)
23. Smoking Cantata

Sir Andrew Davis takes his multi-award-winning Elgar discography to the next level with breathtaking interpretations of Falstaff, Elgar’s most accomplished and characteristic work, and several orchestral songs, with exemplary support from the BBC Philharmonic, all recorded in surround-sound. Owing to its technical challenges and more complex harmonic language, the composer always had a high opinion of Falstaff, saying that he had enjoyed writing it ‘more than any other music I have ever composed and perhaps for that reason it may prove to be among my best efforts’. His earlier music for Grania and Diarmid pays tribute to the Irish legend of Diarmuid and Grainne; the Funeral March is probably Elgar’s noblest creation, and echoes the popular Pomp and Circumstance Marches. The various less well-known songs, given heroic interpretations by the baritone Roderick Williams OBE, span the multiple facets of Elgar’s style, from the stern and dramatic impressions of Op. 60 to the satirical and impish jollity of ‘Kindly do not SMOKE’.

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