Stephen Varcoe, Clifford Benson - Stanford: Songs, Vol. 1-2 (2000)

Tracklist

Stanford: Songs, Vol. 1
01. La belle dame sans merci
02. The Spanish Gypsy, Op. 1: No. 1, Blue Wings
03. The Spanish Gypsy, Op. 1: No. 2, Day Is Dying
04. The Spanish Gypsy, Op. 1: No. 3, Sweet Springtime
05. The Spanish Gypsy, Op. 1: No. 4, Spring Comes Hither
06. The Spanish Gypsy, Op. 1: No. 5, Came a Pretty Maid
07. The Spanish Gypsy, Op. 1: No. 6, The World Is Great
08. The Spanish Gypsy, Op. 1: No. 7, Bright, O Bright Fedalma
09. The Spanish Gypsy, Op. 1: No. 8, The Radiant Dark
10. 6 Songs, Op. 4: No. 1, Sterne mit den gold'nen Füsschen
11. 6 Songs, Op. 4: No. 3, Dass du mich liebst
12. 6 Songs, Op. 4: No. 4, Frühling
13. 6 Songs, Op. 4: No. 6, Der Schmetterling ist in die Rose verliebt
14. 6 Heine Songs, Op. 7: No. 1, Ich lieb' eine Blume
15. 6 Heine Songs, Op. 7: No. 2, Wie des Mondes Abbild zittert
16. 6 Heine Songs, Op. 7: No. 5, Ich halte ihr die Augen zu
17. 6 Heine Songs, Op. 7: No. 6, Schlummerlied
18. My Love's an Arbutus
19. The Little Red Lark
20. Songs of Erin, Op. 76: No. 33, Trottin' to the Fair
21. The Tomb
22. 4 Part-Songs, Op. 110: No. 4, Heraclitus
23. The Glens of Antrim, Op. 174: No. 1, Denny's Daughter
24. The Glens of Antrim, Op. 174: No. 2, The Sailor Man
25. The Glens of Antrim, Op. 174: No. 3, Lookin' Back
26. The Glens of Antrim, Op. 174: No. 4, At Sea
27. The Glens of Antrim, Op. 174: No. 5, I Mind the Day
28. The Glens of Antrim, Op. 174: No. 6, The Boy from Ballytearim
29. A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster, Op. 140: No. 3, A Soft Day
30. A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster, Op. 140: No. 5, The Bold Unbiddable Child
31. A Sheaf of Songs from Leinster, Op. 140: No. 6, Irish Skies

Stanford declared: 'Song-writing is as miniature-painting. The scale is small, and everything must conform to that scale' (Interludes, Records and Reflections, 1922). Such a rigorous sense of focus depended, as Stanford saw it, on a well-defined hierarchy: the poem should always remain the principal consideration, governing all other artistic decisions.

Stanford's care for the voice and the vocal line sprang from his own natural lyrical impulse. Through access in his early years to the almost limitless font of melodic material in Thomas Moore's (mainly eighteenth-century) melodies and the collections of Petrie, Bunting and Joyce, he developed a profound love of traditional melody which remained a vital source of creativity throughout his life. Irish folksong informed much of Stanford's own melodic parlance, but more than that, it engendered a predisposition towards simplicity, a love of diatonicism and a desire for economy, facets which informed not only the lyrical dimension of Stanford's art but also his approach to harmony (in which the presence of a strong bass was imperative), texture and accompaniment.

The composer was almost certainly influential on pupils such as Vaughan Williams, Gurney and Howells and all lovers of song are sure to be entranced by these performances.


Stanford: Songs, Vol. 2
01. 6 Songs, Op. 14: No. 5, Tragödie
02. The Clown's Songs from "Twelfth Night", Op. 65: I. O Mistress Mine
03. The Clown's Songs from "Twelfth Night", Op. 65: II. Come Away, Death
04. The Clown's Songs from "Twelfth Night", Op. 65: III. The Rain It Raineth Every Day
05. Songs of a Roving Celt, Op. 157: No. 1, The Pibroch
06. 4 Songs, Op. 125: No. 3, Phoebe
07. Songs of the Sea, Op. 91: No. 1, Drake's Drum
08. Songs of the Sea, Op. 91: No. 2, Outward Bound
09. Songs of the Sea, Op. 91: No. 3, Devon, O Devon, in Wind and Rain
10. Songs of the Sea, Op. 91: No. 4, Homeward Bound
11. Songs of the Sea, Op. 91: No. 5, The Old Superb
12. For Ever Mine
13. A Child's Garland of Songs, Op. 30: No. 4, Windy Nights
14. 6 English Songs, Op. 19: No. 2, A Lullaby
15. 6 English Songs, Op. 19: No. 3, To the Rose
16. Songs of Faith, Op. 97: No. 4, To the Soul
17. Songs of Faith, Op. 97: No. 6, Joy, Shipmate, Joy!
18. An Irish Idyll in 6 Miniatures, Op. 77: No. 2, The Fairy Lough
19. Tom Leminn
20. A Fire of Turf, Op. 139: No. 1, A Fire of Turf
21. A Fire of Turf, Op. 139: No. 2, The Chapel on the Hill
22. A Fire of Turf, Op. 139: No. 3, Cowslip Time
23. A Fire of Turf, Op. 139: No. 4, Scared
24. A Fire of Turf, Op. 139: No. 5, Blackberry Time
25. A Fire of Turf, Op. 139: No. 6, The Fair
26. A Fire of Turf, Op. 139: No. 7, The West Wind

Here is the second disc of Stanford songs promised when the first was issued in February (CDA67123). This one contains some of Stanford's best-known songs including The Fairy Lough and the complete 'Songs of the Sea' to words by Sir Henry Newbolt (Drake's Drum, The Old Superb etc). It also includes all seven songs of A Fire of Turf—affectionate vignettes of Irish country life (Blackberry Time and The Chapel on the Hill). As with the first disc, this includes many songs of which we can find no evidence of previous recordings.

A 'must' for all lovers of English song—even though Stanford was Irish.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac] Vol 1

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac] Vol 2