COMPOSERS: Vaughan Williams/Elgar/Butterworth
LABELS: EMI
WORKS: On Wenlock Edge; Songs of Travel; Songs; Love Blows as the Wind Blows
PERFORMER: City of Robert Tear (tenor), Thomas Allen (baritone)Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Simon Rattle, Vernon Handley
CATALOGUE NO: CDM 7 64731 2 ADD/DDD (1984/80)
The strongly evocative pastoral verses of Housman’s Shropshire Lad and Robert Louis Stevenson’s poems of a wandering vagabond’s reminiscences inspired some of RVW’s best writing.
The orchestral settings heighten the drama and atmosphere: the intensity of the gale On Wenlock Edge and the crisp chill of winter on ‘Bredon Hill’. Both soloists shine; Allen’s ‘Whither Must I Wander’ should wring tears from even the strongest.
The Elgar and Butterworth settings are delightful too. Highly recommended. Ian Lace