Elin Manahan Thomas, Roderick Williams, Simon Callow, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis - Elgar: The Starlight Express (2012) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

CD1
01. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: To the Children
02. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: In the Village of Bourcelles in the Swiss …
03. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Just Then a Lamplighter …
04. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: At That Time, Henry Had Told Him About the Old Railway …
05. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: … The Mother of Them All
06. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Oh! But I'm Forgetting the Most Important One of All.
07. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: They Were Always Eager to Hear His Poetry
08. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: And Suddenly a New, Enormous Thing Stirred in Their Father's Heart
09. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I Scene 1: As Though On Cue
10. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: To the Children: That's Odd, Said Mother
11. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: … Gold and Had Put It On for Warmth Against the Cool Evening Air
12. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Before Them Stood an Extremely Dishevelled Figure Holding a Suitcase
13. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: As Daddy Took Charge of the Luggage
14. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: We Want to Tell You Something
15. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: All the Rules I Swear to Keep
16. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Are You Sure You Have Everything You Need?
17. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: The Blue-eyed Fairy
18. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: They Found a Clearing With the Open Sky Above Them
19. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Henry Explained That the Pleiades Had Been Attendants Upon Artemis …
20. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: The Sun Has Gone
21. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: The Sun Has Gone: Now, Cats Are Curious Creatures, and Riquette Was No Exception
22. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Turning Towards the Open Window …
23. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: At Length Jinny Came Out of the Cave and Came Over to Them
24. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Then There's Madame Jequier and Dear Miss Waghorn
25. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Could It Be?
26. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: And With That the First Passenger Hurried By Them
27. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: The Sweep
28. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Then a Fantastic, Light, Twirling Creature …
29. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: I'm Ev'rywhere
30. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: And the Shabby Tramp, Playing His Barrel Organ
31. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Well, Let's See Now
32. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Wake Up, You Little Night Winds
33. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Dance of the Winds
34. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: But Where's Cousin Henry?
35. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: I'm Ev'rywhere: Ah! Anyone Gazing Skywards At That Moment …
36. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Sun Dance
37. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 2: Madame Jequier's Constant Anxiety …
38. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 2: Dandelions, Daffodils
39. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 2: In Her Attic Chamber Above
40. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 2: Henry Turned to the Children
41. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: At the Citadelle
42. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: O, Stars Shine Brightly
43. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: The Sprites Had Almost Finished Their Task
44. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: The Sprites Flitted Out, Back to the Starlight Express
45. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: Dawn Song

CD2
01. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: My Old Tunes
02. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: Dandelions, Daffodils
03. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: Miss Waghorn, Whose Confusion of Mind …
04. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: My Main Idea Is This …
05. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: Then Mother Spoke …
06. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: A Few Days Later Henry Left to Return to London
07. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: It Was Late Evening On the Day of His Arrival
08. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: And Suddenly He Remembered an Extraordinary Conversation …
09. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: All Three Children, Perhaps Sent Back from Their Nocturnal Enterprises …
10. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: Sympathy - Hearts Must Be Soft-Shiny Dressed'
11. The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: Jinny Said, With Her Characteristic Gravity …
12. 3 Songs from the Starlight Express: I. The Organ-Grinder's Song (Arr. A. Davis)
13. 3 Songs from the Starlight Express: II. The Dustman's Song (Arr. A. Davis)
14. 3 Songs from the Starlight Express: III. The Gardener's Song (Arr. A. Davis)
15. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: I. To the Children (Arr. A. Davis)
16. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: II. Andantino (Arr. A. Davis)
17. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: III. The Blue-Eyed Fairy (Arr. A. Davis)
18. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: IV. The Sun Has Gone (Arr. A. Davis)
19. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: V. Andantino (Arr. A. Davis)
20. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: VI. Lento (Arr. A. Davis)
21. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: VII. Allegro (Arr. A. Davis)
22. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: VIII. I'm Ev'rywhere (Arr. A. Davis)
23. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: IX. Wake Up, You Little Night Winds (Arr. A. Davis)
24. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: X. Dance of the Winds (Arr. A. Davis)
25. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XI. Lento (Arr. A. Davis)
26. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XII. Sun Dance (Arr. A. Davis)
27. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XIII. Andante (Arr. A. Davis)
28. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XIV. Allegretto (Arr. A. Davis)
29. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XV. O, Stars Shine Brightly (Arr. A. Davis)
30. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XVI. Dawn Song (Arr. A. Davis)
31. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XVII. My Old Tunes (Arr. A. Davis)
32. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XVIII. Dandelions, Daffodils (Arr. A. Davis)
33. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XIX. Moderato (Arr. A. Davis)
34. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XX. Hearts Must Be Soft-Shiny Dressed (Arr. A. Davis)
35. Starlight Express Suite, Op. 78: XXI. Grandioso (Arr. A. Davis)



The Starlight Express was adapted from a book by Algernon Blackwood, A Prisoner in Fairyland, for a theatre production in the West End during the First World War, with music by Sir Edward Elgar. Combining the usually contrasting elements of fairytale and melodrama, The Starlight Express depicts the fantasy world inhabited by a group of children, who possess a magical ‘starlight’ quality that has been lost by the adults around them. This is the most comprehensive recorded version of The Starlight Express to date, based on a new score prepared by the Elgar Edition, which has been adapted by the conductor Sir Andrew Davis.

Our recording includes, in place of the play, a detailed account of the story, penned by the conductor Sir Andrew Davis better to reflect the original book and our pattern of speech today. ‘All the music, excepting the songs and interludes, was designed as melodrama, and in some cases it is meaningless on its own’, explains Sir Andrew, continuing: ‘I have therefore taken the bold step of writing a narrative which is based partly on the play and partly on ‘A Prisoner in Fairyland’.

Our narrator is the actor Simon Callow, known to an international audience for his roles in films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Shakespeare in Love. Callow was delighted to be approached, as he already knows and loves this music, having delivered the narrative in a specially recorded concert performance of the incidental music, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2007. The incidental music, complete with melodramatic passages which work in conjunction with the narrative, occupies all of Disc 1 and continues onto Disc 2. Then we have an extended suite of freestanding orchestral movements and songs.

As a bonus, we have included three songs which link directly to this work. When a staged version of Blackwood’s book was first proposed, in 1914, another young composer, Clive Carey, was commissioned to compose the incidental music; but the outbreak of war forced the cancellation of the original production. When the plans were next revived, Elgar was approached, and he enthusiastically completed the score. However, Clive Carey had already composed three songs, but they were never included in the final production. They have been orchestrated by Sir Andrew Davis for this recording, and are heard here for the very first time.

Our recording of The Starlight Express is performed by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis with two internationally acclaimed soloists: the soprano Elin Manahan Thomas and baritone Roderick Williams.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [Hi-Res]