Shakespeare Songs, Op
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As You Like It Nicky Spence tenor Malcolm Martineau piano RES10116 shakespeare songs shakespeare Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) 1. Hörch, hörch, die Lerch’ [1:34] 16. She never told her love [3:21] As You Like It Roger Quilter (1877-1953) Franz Schubert Three Shakespeare Songs, Op. 6 17. Trinklied [0:45] Shakespeare Songs 2. Come away, death [2:37] 3. O mistress mine [1:24] Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) 4. Blow, blow, thou winter wind [2:20] 18. Lied des transferierten Zettel [0:56] Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Geoffrey Bush (1920-1988) Nicky Spence tenor 5. Fancie [0:52] 19. It was a lover and his lass [1:52] Malcolm Martineau piano Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) Alex Woolf (b. 1995) 6. Fancy [1:50] Three Tempestuous Tunes (2012) * 20. This is a very scurvy tune [2:08] Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) 21. Flout ‘em and scout ‘em [0:35] Trois chansons de Shakespeare, Op. 28 22. No more dams I’ll make for fish [1:10] 7. Chanson de clown [3:29] 8. Chanson d’amour [2:11] Dominick Argento (b. 1927) 9. Chanson d’Ophélie [2:03] from Six Elizabethan Songs 23. Winter [1:34] Franz Schubert 24. Dirge [3:54] About Nicky Spence: 10. An Sylvia [2:44] Mervyn Horder (1910-1998) ‘[…] a voice of real distinction’ Henry Purcell (1659-1695) 25. Under the greenwood tree [1:22] The Daily Telegraph arr. Tippett/Bergmann 11. If music be the food of love [2:03] John Dankworth (1927-2010) 'Engaging and shining […] highly nuanced and projected performances by Nicky Spence.' 12. An Epithalamium [2:51] 26. Shall I compare thee to a Gramophone summer’s day? [2:24] Michael Tippett (1905-1998) 27. The Compleat Works [1:20] Songs for Ariel 28. Dunsinane Blues [2:56] About Malcolm Martineau: 13. Come unto these yellow sands [1:48] 14. Full fathom five [1:45] Peter Dickinson (b. 1934) ‘[…] one of the world’s finest accompanists’ 15. Where the bee sucks [1:17] from Schubert in Blue New York Observer 29. Hark, hark, the lark [1:55] * world premiere recording Total playing time [57:17] As You Like It: Shakespeare Songs the world over, with no sign of abating. Since the end of the Second World War alone, several The man that hath no music in himself, hundred operas and major musical works have Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, been written that are based in some way on one Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils; of his numerous plays, with Benjamin Britten’s The motions of his spirit are dull as night And his affections dark as Erebus: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Michael Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music. Tippett – with references to The Tempest in The Merchant of Venice, Act 5 Scene 1 The Knot Garden as well as incidental music for the play – being the most notable proponents In the introduction to the 1966 volume of essays from Britain, but with important contributions entitled Shakespeare in Music, the editor from Luciano Berio (1925-2003), Aribert Phyllis Hartnoll, begins with this statement: Reimann (b. 1936) and more recently Thomas ‘There is probably no writer who has inspired Adès (b. 1971) in his reworking of The Tempest. more music from musicians of widely differing And of course mention should also be made nationalities and dispositions, than Shakespeare’. of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story as Like no other national literary figure from well as Cole Porter's Kiss me Kate. around the world, William Shakespeare's reach and influence is truly international. Most notable composers of the art song and y And from incidental music intended to lieder have also set the words of Shakespeare aph accompany his plays, through to song with at some point in their output, with the most texts from – or adapted from – the plays, notable aspect again the simply staggering to film, radio and television music, and full breadth and diversity of works that have scale operas, the incredible scale of been produced as a result of one writer. And Shakespeare's reach in the musical world it is this eclectic aspect of Shakespearian music y: Raphaella Photogr itself is difficult, if not impossible, to quantify. that is celebrated through the kaleidoscopic aph Scholars have listed over 20,000 musical works nature of the programme presented here – from associated with Shakespeare, a list that surely Restoration Henry Purcell to the first outing of Photogr a set of songs penned by the young composer Nicky Spence contains many omissions, as well as being almost immediately outdated. Alex Woolf in the months leading up to the recording itself, along with contributions ‘Nicky Spence flatters the tenor lines’ from the Classical and Romantic eras, as The Financial Times And now, approaching the 450th anniversary of the date of Shakespeare’s birth, his output well as post war and jazz interpretations. continues to enthral and inspire composers The two earliest works on the album – An D. 889 and Trinklied D. 888. As the title (’Chansons de clown’, ‘Chanson d'amour’ and Britten (1913-1976), Michael Tippett (1905-1998), Epithalamium and If music be the food of love – suggests Trinklied is a compact and rousing ‘Chanson d'Ophèlie’) that are full of emotion Geoffrey Bush (1920-1988) and Mervyn Horder are both by the Restoration composer drinking song with a text translated from and provide hugely eventful and rich journeys (1910-1998) – add hugely to the kaleidoscopic Henry Purcell (1659-1695). A pioneer of the second act of Anthony and Cleopatra; in harmony. The compact and hugely lyrical nature of the disc. The busy setting of Fancie English opera, he is often linked with the Schubert wrote a number of drinking nature of this set belie the sheer amount (with a text from The Merchant of Venice) by adaptation of The Tempest John Dryden songs for male chorus and piano, of music in the three songs. Britten was originally intended for unison (1631-1700) and William D’Avenant however this one was composed in voices and piano, with some ad libitum divisi (1606-1668), but also composed the 1826 for solo voice. The song Horch, horch, While many of Wolf’s songs are brooding at the words ‘ding, dong bell’, but works equally music for Timon of Athens and The Fairy die Lerch’ (Hark, hark, the lark) is a setting yet intensely sophisticated, a lighter side well as a song for solo voice. A interesting Queen. The latter, a semi-opera reworking of a German translation by August Wilhelm is on display in Lied des transferierten contrast is obtained by a segue into the ‘Calme of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, provides Schlegel (1767-1845) of words from the Zettel – a translation by Schlegel of a text et mèlancoique’, and deceptively simple setting the source of the wedding song An second act of Cymbeline, was intended to from the third act of A Midsummer of the same words by Francis Poulenc Epithalmium (’Thrice happy lovers’) while have only one verse, with the two additional Night's Dream, the minor key ingeniously (1899-1963). The two interpretations of the text If music be the food of love is the first of verses sometimes heard being a later adds to the comic and ironic nature of could hardly be more different, but were both two settings of the song for voice and addition. A song of admiration for Silvia, the song. written in 1962 for Marion Harwood, along keyboard. Both are here presented in An Sylvia is a charming strophic setting of with a third setting for chorus by Zoltán Kodály their arrangements by Michael Tippett German translation by August Wilhelm Known mainly as a composer of song, and (1882-1967). (1905-1998) and Walter Bergmann Schlegel (1767-1845) of a text from The with a quintessentially English pastoral (1902-1998). Two Gentleman of Verona. style, Roger Quilter (1877-1953) composed Michael Tippett’s Songs for Ariel, were taken the Three Shakespeare Songs, Op. 6 in 1905. from his incidental music for The Tempest, She never told her love was part of a Close contemporaries, but with vastly These three songs were the first of some first performed in 1962 at London's Old Vic collection of six settings of English texts differing musical styles were Hugo Wolf seventeen settings of Shakespeare by Theatre. For quite some time they were all that published in London in 1795 by Joseph (1860-1903) and Ernest Chausson (1855-1899). Quilter, and are possibly the most remained from the incidental music and while Haydn (1732-1809) – Haydn also incorrectly Chausson's songs are of the unmistakably popular. Each of the three songs (’Come they were not for a specific voice, they were attributed another in the set to Shakespeare, Romantic French late-nineteenth-century away, death’, ‘O mistress mine’ and first performed in their separate form by The Spirit’s Song. She never told her love is language that is typified by Gabriel Fauré ‘Blow, blow thou winter wind’) displays countertenor and harpsichord the following year. an unusual but effective setting of words (1845-1924) and Claude Debussy (1862-1918). superb word painting, while staying Essentially a reworking of The Tempest, his spoken by Vila in the second act of Twelfth In the Trois Chansons de Shakespeare, the true to the nature of each text, despite opera The Knot Garden also makes references to Night. Composed shortly afterwards, but French translation of Shakespeare’s text the ambiguities of the final song, ‘Blow, these three songs.