James Geer, Ronald Woodley - Songs by Goossens, Bliss & Howells (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Chamber Music: I. Now, O Now
02. Chamber Music: II. Gentle Lady, Do Not Sing Sad Songs
03. Chamber Music: III. Dear Heart, Why Will You Use Me So?
04. Chamber Music: IV. O Cool is the Valley Now
05. Chamber Music: V. All Day I Hear the Noise of Waters
06. Chamber Music: VI. I Hear an Army
07. Three Songs: I. Thunderstorms
08. Three Songs: II. This Night
09. Three Songs: III. Leisure
10. Nine Songs: VIII. Rich or Poor
11. Here She Lies, A Pretty Bud
12. Longing
13. O Garlands, Hanging by the Doors
14. A Memory of the Players in a Mirror at Midnight
15. Simples
16. Flood
17. Four Songs: I. Threshold
18. Four Songs: II. A Winter-Night Idyll
19. Four Songs: III. A Woodland Dell
20. Four Songs: IV. Seascape
21. Three Romantic Songs: I. The Hare
22. Three Romantic Songs: II. Lovelocks
23. Three Romantic Songs: III. The Buckle
24. Sailing or Flying?
25. Tulips
26. Four Songs, Op. 22: III. The Widow Bird
27. The Little Boy Lost
28. A Garland de la Mare: The Lady Caroline
29. Lethe
30. When Thou Art Dead

In the years immediately leading up to the First World War the Royal College of Music in London welcomed three of the most brilliant young musicians of their generation as students: Eugene Goossens, Arthur Bliss, and Herbert Howells. Close friends as they became, their musical personalities nevertheless evolved over the following years as notably distinct from one another. This disc brings something of their individual characteristics to the fore through a selection of their rarely performed solo songs, including four first recordings and three unpublished works. The songs are performed by tenor James Geer and pianist Ronald Woodley in this continuation of their long-standing partnership.