Elgar's Part-Songs
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 01/18/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This collection of part-songs by Elgar came about largely as a result of the popularity of choral competition festivals in England in the early years of the last century. It is unfortunate that these compositions have by and large fallen from favor and few of them are heard these days in live performances. Of the 23 songs included here I've only ever heard 'There is Sweet Music' and 'Go, Song of Mine' in concert. That's a shame, because there are some real jewels here. That said, I must confess that this CD does not generally live up to expectations. Partly that is because this is a large chorus--the London Symphony Chorus--which is not given the warmest or most life-like recorded sound. The printed material does not say where these performances were recorded, but there is definitely a problem with constricted and even harsh sound when the dynamic goes much above forte, as it does in a number of these pieces (not least in 'Go, Song of Mine'--the recorded sound, plus the under-pitch singing of the chorus's women pretty much sink this performance). On the whole, and in spite of what the booklet notes imply Elgar wanted, I think most of these songs would sound better with a smaller (and better-tuned) chorus. Certainly John Rutter's Cambridge Singers sound much better in the two Elgar songs they've recorded ('There is sweet music' and 'My love dwelt in a Northern land').
Far and away the best performances here are those for male chorus alone: 'The Wanderer,' to Elgar's somewhat mysterious words, and 'Zut, zut, zut,' a spirited marching song that conveys the disillusion following World War I, are beautifully and effectively done. 'Yea, Cast me from Heights' and 'The Reveille' are also quite nicely done by the male chorus.
This music contains some of Elgar's most original music. 'There is sweet music,' for instance, is bitonal, with the men singing in G and the women in A flat--amazing for its time. And entirely lovely. 'Owls' has some extremely odd harmonies, not what one would expect from Elgar, and yet it is very effective (and surely precisely what Elgar wanted) in conveying the strangeness of its text.
I cannot recommend this CD except for those who really want to hear this repertoire. I'm not aware of any other CDs that contain this range of Elgar's part-songs.
Scott Morrison"
Go Song Of Mine
zaphod_4964 | Mexico | 11/21/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes I feel like prefering a chamber choir, but in pieces like "Go, Song of Mine" the LSC and Tod Handley do a very moving job. "Owls" sounds very well in here, too."
Track Listings (23) - Disc #1