James Gilchrist, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, David Hill - Finzi: Dies Natalis / Farewell To Arms / 2 Sonnets (2008) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Dies Natalis, Op. 8: I. Intrada
02. Dies Natalis, Op. 8: II. Rhapsody
03. Dies Natalis, Op. 8: III. The Rapture
04. Dies Natalis, Op. 8: IV. Wonder
05. Dies Natalis, Op. 8: V. The Salutation
06. Prelude in F Minor, Op. 25
07. Elegy, Op. 20 "The Fall of the Leaf"
08. 2 Sonnets, Op. 12: No. 1, When I Consider
09. 2 Sonnets, Op. 12: No. 2, How Soon Hath Time
10. Nocturne, Op. 7 "New Year Music"
11. Farewell to Arms, Op. 9: I. Introduction
12. Farewell to Arms, Op. 9: II. Aria


Quintessentially Finzi, the tender yet radiant Dies natalis, a setting of texts by the 17th-century poet Thomas Traherne, depicts both the first sensations of a child as it enters the world, and life’s tarnishing experience of the innocence of childhood.

In Farewell to Arms, a further example of Finzi’s enthusiasm for 17th-century poets, the steady but inevitable tramp of time, symbolized by the measured bass and the tenor’s sad, arching melody, becomes a poignant symbol for the brevity of life as expressed in lines such as ‘O time too swift, O swiftness never ceasing’. Finzi knew all too well that ‘Beauty, strength, youth are flowers but fading seen’.

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