Description
This new release of songs by Hubert Parry is Paula Fan's final recording in a legacy of remarkable recordings from this remarkable Chinese-American pianist, whose unique intellect remained ever curious and inquisitive.
This CD contains three world premiere recordings of Parry's songs. The first of these is The Maid of Elsinore (1891), the Viking tale of the 10th-century Norwegian King who married Tyra of Denmark. In 1903 Parry's old friend Sir Cavendish Boyle, then Governor of Newfoundland, requested a tune for lyrics he had written for the Newfoundland National Song, Ode to Newfoundland. In 1906 he composed The Laird of Cockpen to lyrics by Lady Nairn, the tale of a self-possessed 17th-century Laird.
Perhaps the words of one of the composer's great champions, HM The King, best summarises the hidden man:
"a complex man with a mind of his own, who challenged his upbringing, and, in love, let his heart rule his head".
It is gratifying to think that the 21st century might bring a new image of Parry and his hidden music into focus.
