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Congleton Review

This is a rather lovely album that we have carried on playing, long after the review was written. Baritone Alexander and pianist Crockford have made an album celebrating English Song — art-songs by composers, well- and not-so- well-known say the sleeve notes, though we’d not heard any of it before (though the encore “How could I ever know” from “The Secret Garden” does sound familiar).

“It is some of the best examples of what is often called the Parlour Ballad, beloved of audiences in the early years of the 20th century,” say the notes, which from the music on here must have been events that stilled the audience into silence, and had them leaving refreshed when the gig was done.

It’s mostly relaxing and easy to listen to, though there’s a bit of dip for us in the middle for a section where it’s a little too harsh, but this is fine with the performers, who write: “We have not tried to be clever or intellectual in our choice of songs. We also realise that many wonderful songs have been missed out … it is unlikely that our audience will empathise with every song we have chosen. Some will find the desolation songs too distressing; others may find some songs are just too lightweight for them. However, we hope that you can all find enough herein to share our enjoyment of these songs” which is, as AE Housman (“Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad” opens) would say, bang on.

“Is my team ploughing?” opens and is typical of many songs, offering a pastoral calm. Standout for us is “Love’s garden of roses,” written by Haydn Wood (1882-1959) — this one song is reported to have sold so many thousands of copies of sheet music that it earnt Wood a six-figure sum in royalties, and it was one of the biggest hits of 1918.

“Kashmiri Song” by Amy Woodforde-Finden (1860-1919) is also peachy (again as AE Housman would say); very pleasantly romantic.

There’s also the first commercial recording of “Autumn” (1938), by Peter Gellhorn (1912-2004), a German conductor, composer and pianist who fled Nazi Germany in 1935.

Well worth a listen if you’re the human voice and / or peaceful music.

Out on Divine Art, DDX 21114.