Thomas Allen, Malcolm Martineau - Songs My Father Taught Me: Parlour Songs & Ballads (2002)

Tracklist

01. Passing By
02. The Lark in the Clear Air (Arr. Tate)
03. My Dearest Heart
04. Until
05. Love's Garden of Roses
06. Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes (Arr. Quilter)
07. It Is Only a Tiny Garden
08. Love, Could I Only Tell Thee
09. A Mood
10. Smilin' Through
11. The Lost Chord
12. The Holy City
13. The Cheviot Hills
14. On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away
15. A Brown Bird Singing
16. She Is Far from the Land
17. In Summertime on Bredon
18. The Trumpeter
19. Bird of Love Divine
20. God's Garden
21. Till the Boys Come Home "Keep the Home Fires Burning"
22. Trees
23. The Old House
24. Bird Songs at Eventide
25. I'll Walk Beside You

The making of this record was a very special labour of love for Sir Thomas who writes of it:

'The completion of this record marks something of a watershed for me in a career not without incident and highlight. So why, you may ask, should a recording of what were once mostly popular songs be just as telling, if not more so, than the commitment to disc of the great works of Mozart, Wagner, Verdi, Berlioz and so many other heavyweight names? I can only say that nostalgia and sentiment are almost entirely responsible, plus a genuine love of the often simple but very beautiful melodies that lie within these songs. The majority of them did indeed enjoy popularity in their day, still do in some cases. Others never made their mark, and I feel should have done, but who can ponder the eternal riddle of why, with works of not dissimilar quality, some make it and others don't. There's no academia behind this recording, just my very simple need to recapture memories I have of amateur singers coming through our house in Seaham Harbour, to practice these songs and others with my father at a time when there seemed a need for reassurance, perhaps, following two world wars. Then, there was no embarrassment at the sentiment common to so many of them, as one might experience now. My father, I think, would have liked the record and I want it to be in his beloved memory ... Thomas Allen'.

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