BRITISH MUSICAL MASTERPIECES INSPIRED BY THE OCEAN DDD 8.578017-18 DISC 1 O vast Rondure, swimming in space, Caroling free, singing our song of God, Covered all over with visible power and beauty, Chanting our chant of pleasant exploration. Alternate light and day and the teeming O Soul, thou pleasest me, I thee, Frank Bridge: The Sea (Suite) spiritual darkness, Sailing these seas or on the hills, 1 No. 1. Seascape 7:28 Unspeakable high processions of sun and moon or walking in the night, 2 No. 2. Sea-foam 2:35 and countless stars above, Thoughts, silent thoughts, of Time and Space 3 No. 3. Moonlight 6:12 Below, the manifold grass and waters, and Death, like water flowing, With inscrutable purpose, some hidden Bear me indeed as though regions infinite, 4 No. 4. Storm 5:29 prophetic intention, Whose air I breathe, whose ripples hear, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Now first it seems my thought begins to span lave me all over, James Judd (conductor) thee. Bathe me, O God, in thee, mounting to thee, I and my soul to range in range of thee. Down from the gardens of Asia descending, 5 Arnold Bax: Tintagel 14:32 Adam and Eve appear, then their myriad O thou transcendent, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, progeny after them, Nameless, the fibre and the breath, David Lloyd-Jones (conductor) Wandering, yearning, with restless explorations, Light of the light, shedding forth universes, with questionings, baffled, formless, feverish, thou centre of them. with never-happy hearts, with that sad Swiftly I shrivel at the thought of God, Edward Elgar: Sea Pictures, Op. 37 incessant refrain, - At Nature and its wonders, Time and Space 6 I. Sea Slumber-Song 5:50 “Wherefore unsatisfied soul? and Death, 7 II. In Haven (Capri) 1:55 Whither O mocking life?” 8 III. Sabbath Morning at Sea 5:52 But that I, turning, call to thee, Ah who shall soothe these feverish children? O Soul, thou actual me 9 IV. Where Corals Lie 3:35 Who justify these restless explorations? And lo, thou gently masterest the orbs, 10 V. The Swimmer 5:52 Who speak the secret of the impassive earth? Thou matest Time, smilest content at Death, Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano), Yet soul be sure the first intent remains, And fillest, swellest full the vastnesses of Space. Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and shall be carried out, Greater than stars or suns, Perhaps even now the time has arrived. Bounding, O Soul, thou journeyest forth; Simon Wright (conductor) After the seas are all crossed, After the great captains have accomplished Away, O Soul! Hoist instantly the anchor! Benjamin Britten: Four Sea Interludes, Op. 33a their work, Cut the hawsers - haul out - shake out every sail! 11 I. Dawn 3:09 After the noble inventors, Sail forth, steer for the deep waters only, Finally shall come the poet worthy that name, Reckless, O Soul, exploring, I with thee, 12 II. Sunday Morning 3:49 The true son of God shall come singing his and thou with me, 13 III. Moonlight 4:25 songs. For we are bound, where mariner has not 14 IV. Storm 4:41 yet dared to go, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, O we can wait no longer, And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all. We too take ship, O Soul, O my brave Soul! Myer Freedmann (conductor)75:24 Joyous we too launch out on trackless seas, O farther, farther sail! Fearless for unknown shores on waves O darling joy, but safe! CD 1 playing time: 75:24 of ecstasy to sail, Are they not all the seas of God? Amid the wafting winds O farther, farther, farther sail! (thou pressing me to thee, I thee to me, O Soul), 2 11 and always has spanned, spiritual darkness, DISC 2 And shall forever span them and shall Unspeakable high processions of sun and compactly moon William Alwyn: Seascapes hold and enclose them. and countless stars above, 1 No. 1. Dawn at Sea 2:02 Below, the manifold grass and waters, III. Scherzo: The Waves With inscrutable purpose, some hidden 2 No. 2. Sea-Mis 2:07 (Chorus) prophetic intention, 3 No. 3. Song of the Drowned Man 2:14 Now first it seems my thought begins to span 4 No. 4. Black Gulls 4:13 After the sea-ship, after the whistling winds, thee. Elin Manahan Thomas (soprano), After the white-gray sails taut to their John Turner (treble recorder), spars and ropes, Down from the gardens of Asia descending, Iain Burnside (piano) Below, a myriad, myriad waves hastening, Adam and Eve appear, then their myriad lifting up their necks, progeny after them, Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 1, Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track Wandering, yearning, with restless of the ship, explorations, “A Sea Symphony”, Waves of the ocean bubbling and gurgling, with questionings, baffled, formless, feverish, 5 I. Song of all Seas, all Ships 18:29 blithely prying, with never-happy hearts, with that sad 6 II. On the Beach at Night, Alone 10:23 Waves, undulating waves, liquid, uneven, incessant refrain, - 7 III. (Scherzo) The Waves 7:47 emulous waves, “Wherefore unsatisfied soul? 8 IV. The Explorers: Grave e molto adagio 27:15 Toward that whirling current, laughing Whither O mocking life?” Joan Rodgers (soprano), and buoyant with curves, Christopher Maltmann (baritone), Where the great vessel sailing and tacking Ah who shall soothe these feverish children? Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, displaced the surface, Who justify these restless explorations? Larger and smaller waves in the spread of Who speak the secret of the impassive earth? Paul Daniel (conductor) the ocean yearnfully flowing, Yet soul be sure the first intent remains, The wake of the sea-ship after she passes, and shall be carried out, CD 2 playing time: 74:31 flashing and frolicsome under the sun, Perhaps even now the time has arrived. Total playing time: 2 hours and 30 minutes A motley procession with many a fleck After the seas are all crossed, of foam and many fragments, After the great captains have accomplished Following the stately and rapid ship, their work, in the wake following. After the noble inventors, Finally shall come the poet worthy that name, IV. The Explorers The true son of God shall come singing his (Baritone / Soprano / Chorus) songs. O vast Rondure, swimming in space, O we can wait no longer, Covered all over with visible power and We too take ship, O Soul, beauty, Joyous we too launch out on trackless seas, Alternate light and day and the teeming Fearless for unknown shores on waves 10 3 Sea Pictures And on its limitless heaving breast, the ships; Flaunt out visible as ever the various flags See, where their white sails, bellying in the and ship-signals! Britain is an island on which nowhere is more than 70 miles (about 110 km) from the sea. wind, speckle the green and blue, But do you reserve especially for yourself and It has a wonderfully varied coastline of more than 11,000 miles (nearly 18,000 km) and for centuries See, the steamers coming and going, for it’s Navy and merchant ships dominated the world’s oceans. So its hardly surprising that British steaming in or out of port, the soul of man one flag above all the rest, composers have written not only numerous sea songs, often suggested by traditional shanties, but See, dusky and undulating, A spiritual woven signal for all nations, also many more extended concert works inspired by the sea. the long pennants of smoke. emblem of Behold, the sea itself, man elate above death, This collection, drawn from an especially rich period of British musical history, takes And on its limitless heaving breast, the ships. Token of all brave captains and of all intrepid its title from the song cycle with orchestra Sea Pictures [CD 1, tracks 6–10] by Edward Elgar (1857- sailors and mates, 1934). He wrote it in 1899, shortly after his breakthrough Enigma Variations, for the celebrated (Baritone) And of all that went down doing their duty, contralto Dame Clara Butt – who gave the first performance at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival in Today a rude brief recitative, Reminiscent of them, twined from all intrepid a dress suggesting a mermaid’s scales. The poems, by five different authors including the composer’s Of ships sailing the seas, captains young or old, wife, have maritime settings in different parts of the world; recurring themes of love remembered each with its special flag or ship-signal, and love abiding are highlighted by musical references to earlier songs in the finale. Elgar himself Of unnamed heroes in the ships - of waves (Baritone) lived all his life inland, in his native West Midlands and in London; but he was a frequent traveller, spreading and spreading far as the eye can A pennant universal, subtly waving all the and his familiarity with the sea is evident in his imaginative orchestral evocations of its varied but reach, time, unceasing rise and fall. Of dashing spray, o’er all brave sailors, and the winds piping and blowing, All seas, all ships. Arnold Bax (1883-1953) was a Londoner by birth, but his lifelong attachment to Celtic And out of these a chant for the sailors legend, literature and landscape drew him to the rugged coasts of Ireland and south-west England of all nations, II. On the Beach at Night, alone bordering the Atlantic Ocean; and, as he once wrote, ‘it is natural that the sea in its many varieties Fitful, like a surge.