Len Vorster, Ian Partridge - Lord Berners: Songs & Piano Music (2022)

Tracklist

01. Polka for Piano Solo
02. 3 Songs in the German Manner: No. 1, Du bist wie einer Blume
03. 3 Songs in the German Manner: No. 2, König Wiswamitra
04. 3 Songs in the German Manner: No. 3, Weihnachtslied
05. Le poisson d'or
06. Dispute entre le papillon et le crapaud
07. 3 Chansons: No. 1, Romance
08. 3 Chansons: No. 2, L'étoile filante
09. 3 Chansons: No. 3, La fiancée du timbalier
10. 3 Petites marches funèbres: No. 1, Pour un homme d'état
11. 3 Petites marches funèbres: No. 2, Pour un canari
12. 3 Petites marches funèbres: No. 3, Pour une tante à héritage
13. 3 English Songs: No. 1, Lullaby
14. 3 English Songs: No. 2, The Lady Visitor in the Pauper Ward
15. 3 English Songs: No. 3, The Green-Eyed Monster
16. Fragments psychologiques: No. 1, La haine
17. Fragments psychologiques: No. 2, Le rire
18. Fragments psychologiques: No. 3, Un soupir
19. Dialogue Between Tom Filuter and His Man, by Ned the Dog Stealer
20. March for Piano Solo
21. The Expulsion from Paradise
22. 3 Songs: No. 1, The Rio Grande
23. 3 Songs: No. 2, Theodore, or the Pirate King
24. 3 Songs: No. 3, A Long Time Ago
25. Valse (From "The Halfway House")
26. Red Roses and Red Noses
27. Come on, Algernon (From "Champagne Charlie")


Lord Berners was essentially self-taught as a composer, profiting from experiences gained while travelling in Europe, and receiving advice and encouragement from Stravinsky. A tone of wit and humour is established in his masterful settings of Heine in the Lieder Album, and his subtle touch with the French language is well represented in the Trois Chansons. The Fragments psychologiques is a piano cycle that is both virtuosic and expressive. From mock parlour-song parodies to a poem about a dejected goldfish, Lord Berners’ keen sense of observation and ironic view on life is here in abundance.

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