As in the previous record, Young is accompanied by the Sebastian String Quartet and pianist Gordon Watson. Lionel Solomon (flute) and Peter Graeme (English horn) are heard on "The Curlew." As before, the recordings originate with Argo and are from slightly later American Westminster pressings.
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| Alexander Young |
Peter Warlock, a pseudonym for Philip Heseltine, mainly wrote songs during his short life, which ended in what is most likely suicide at age 36. He is lightly regarded as a composer - possibly because he was a miniaturist, but his songs are of a very high standard. "The Curlew" cycle is his masterpiece, his music fitting extraordinary well to Yeats' bleak poetry. ("No boughs have withered because of the wintry wind; the boughs have withered because I have told them my dreams.") But the composer responds just as strongly to joyful verse such as the Shakespeare setting "Pretty Ring Time." This dual aspect of Heseltine's work is sometimes thought to express the dual Heseltine/Warlock identity.
Young is the right artist for this work; he encompasses all its facets beautifully, and the other musicians also are excellent. As is standard for Argo recordings of this vintage (1953), the voice is backwardly balanced.
The Argo cover is above; scans of the inappropriate Westminster cover (of Big Ben!) and texts are included in the download.
I have Young's recording of Roger Quilter songs somewhere and will transfer it when I find it.
Buster, thanks so much for this. I continue to marvel how, never having met and knowing nothing about each other, our tastes continue to be a perfect match. I have plenty of friends and colleagues who share this or that niche interest; but to have shared on this site...
ReplyDeleteAaron Copand, Alec Wilder, Alex North, Benjamin Britten, Alexander Young, Gabriel Fauré, Victor "Showtime," Elliott Lawrence, Dardanelle, Polly Bergen, Igor Stravinsky, and on and on. All very much to my taste, and gratefully received.
what beautiful music, greatly supported by musicians and singer ! THANK YOU !
ReplyDeleteAt last! One I own! (...and thought only I loved. Esp. the "Dead of Night"-ish cover and sound.)
ReplyDeleteMany grateful thanks for your excursions off the beaten path and for sharing your discoveries.
Well, thanks everyone - I greatly enjoy hearing from you.
ReplyDeleteJAC - One of the joys of sharing is finding kindred spirits; especially ones who like all types of music.
Wortley C - I love the old Argos. The covers, the hollow sound - the whole gestalt.
Centuri - I agree! Warlock was a superb songwriter.
This is a wonderful record. Thank you so much for sharing it with me.
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