Description
Albion Records presents remastered early recordings of works by Vaughan Williams and Holst – all of them appearing on CD for the first time.
The works on this recording include songs performed by Robert Irwin and Stuart Robertson, both accompanied by Gerald Moore, and Peter Dawson singing Silent Noon by Vaughan Williams as well as Lovely, Kind and Kindly Loving by Holst. The band of HM Grenadier Guards and the fabled Black Dyke Mills Band play suites by Holst, while HM Life Guards play Vaughan Williams's Folk Song Suite.
Reviews
This enchanting disc rescues performances of brief pieces by Vaughan Williams and Holst, friends and colleagues, from "78" oblivion. Songs by VW are performed by Stuart Robertson, Robert Irwin, Peter Dawson and Edgar Coyle, the first two with Gerald Moore at the piano, and all-voices sounding the common, touching note of a bygone era. The BBC Chorus, Choir of Temple Church and other choirs contribute items, and there are three brass-band excursions. VW's English Folk Song Suite is taken at a lick by the Band of HM Life Guards, while the Black Dyke Mills Band reminds us what a jewel is Holst's A Moorside Suite. --Paul Driver, The Sunday Times – 3 April 2016
Albion's latest disc has an inevitable partnership: Heirs and Rebels is a collection of historic recordings from 78s of the Twenties, Thirties and Forties of music by VW and his closest friend and counsellor, Gustav HoIst. Vintage recordings of three of VW's Songs of Travel remind us how they would have sounded to contemporary audiences, and how much the English voice has changed over the past 80 or 90 years. There are also two orchestral recordings of great power, VW's English Folk Song Suite, recorded in 1923, and his Sea Songs: Quick March from 1946. HoIst, similarly, is represented by little known songs in matchless recordings that might otherwise have been lost, and by his Moorside Suite and First Suite for Military Band. These recordings not only show that there is far more to the great composers than we realised, they also show how vintage recordings present the listener with clear insights into music every bit as effectively as those from the crystal-clear digital age. Above all, they show us how these works have true character. --Simon Heffer, The Daily Telegraph – Saturday 28 May 2016
