Search - Benjamin Luxon, English Traditional, British Isles Traditional :: Down By the Salley Gardens

Consummate Artistry!

Lorenz M. Schultz | Forest Grove, OR United States | 02/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the mid 1990's, Benjamin Luxon was forced to give up
a major international presence singing opera/oratorio/songs because
of his growing deafness. This wonderful reissue gives us a taste
of what we lost yet is a reminder of his consummate artistry.
Luxon and his accompanist, David Willison, give loving
and sometimes spirited interpretations of a wide crossection
of British Isle traditional and folk songs. Thank you, Chandos,
for this reminder of the excellent gifts that Benjamin Luxon shared with us."

Encourage your brooders to set

E. A. Lovitt | Gladwin, MI USA | 03/07/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This album falls gracelessly between two stools: art song and folk song. Listening to it was like being stuck in an endless after-dinner recital when all I really wanted to do was drape the concert notes over my eyes and snooze.I wanted to be polite. After all, I really loved the albums Benjamin Luxon cut with Bill Crofut, where many of this album's songs also appear, only sung in a very tuneful and endearing manner. I highly recommend their "Dance to Your Daddy," "Two Gentlemen Folk," and "Simple Gifts."For that matter, I'd recommend this baritone's classical CDs to anyone. He sings a mean Bach.This album? Well, I'm glad Amazon's two-star rating means 'not for me' instead of 'this recording is so incredibly one-dimensional and boring that I'm going to pipe it into my hen house to encourage the brooders to set.'I know some people will love listening to Benjamin Luxon sing twenty-six English folk songs in what my untrained ear seemed to think was exactly the same manner, tempo, and volume, accompanied by what sounded like the same tune on the piano for all twenty-six tracks (maybe the pianist got sick after the first track and the album's producers thought no one would notice if they recycled his accompaniment twenty-five times). After all, the previous reviewer gave this album five stars and a very respectful evaluation.I'm saying if you want to hear Benjamin Luxon sing 'Down by the Salley Gardens,' you will be better off with "Dance to Your Daddy" rather than this CD."