A Vaughan Williams Voice Recital

 

I don't listen to many vocal recordings.

Mainly because I hear so many in person.

Looking back at the review below, it seems my quibble is the lyrical programming while listening in one sitting.

Does anyone do this? Really, these song cycles by Vaughan Williams should probably be heard separately, and a live recital would have more of a variety of styles and composers. Take my words at leisure rather than hard and fast here, for Vaughan Williams' song cycles are lovely creations.

 

 

A review from 2023

Ian Partridge’s recital of Vaughan Williams songs is a modern precipice performance from the early 70’s. The assortment of chamber musicians are made up of the finest British musicians from the time, here referred to as the Music Group of London.

On Wenlock Edge might be RVW’s finest song cycle for voice. Wistful and pastoral, it leans into his stereotypical abilities, here with string quartet and piano. On the other hand, Ten Blake Songs is a duet between oboe and tenor, and is a bit more unusual as a final product, if not baffling for this listener.

Ian Partridge really charges at the Four Hymns, and is one of few moments the tenor leaps at VW’s music. Merciless Beauty is a short, interesting ode to an older style of music, perhaps due to Chaucer’s text.

The New Ghost and The Water Mill are songs 3 & 4 from Four Poems of Fredegond Shove. These are perhaps the most pictorial from Vaughan Williams and Ian Partridge, here aided by pianist Jennifer Partridge, the tenor’s sister. If only we had the full set…

Ian Partridge has a lovely open-voiced lyric tenor. His view of this music is poetic and heartfelt, and with the exception of the Four Hymns, a little bit of electricity would be welcome to this program. In On Wenlock Edge, Robert Tear on EMI is almost too dramatic in an Italianate manner, so Partridge’s seems most authentically English. Philip Langridge with the Britten Quartet, also on EMI, sits ideally between the two, with a wonderful lyric tenor sound, yet with a fair bit of contrast amongst the six songs.

I would not be surprised to believe Ian Partridge’s recital of Vaughan Williams’ songs was a prime choice, and I would not be one to argue with such an assessment. Partridge sings beautifully, with much poetry behind his voice, the instrumentalists are top notch, and the EMI sound is wonderful.

For this listener, the program could use some variety, which the Four Hymns and Water Mill provide some of, and the Ten Blake Songs are just not for me. Also, there is a 2CD set of this whole program alongside Partridge singing Peter Warlock’s The Curlew, among others. A light recommendation from me, but I would show no surprise if this is the finest performance of some of these vocal works.

 

 

 

Works
Four Hymns (15.22)
Merciless Beauty (6.15)
The Water Mill (3.16)
The New Ghost (4.59)
Ten Blake Songs (17.55)
On Wenlock Edge (21.31)

Soloists
Ian Partridge, tenor
Janet Craxton, oboe
Jennifer Partridge, piano

Performers
Music Group of London

Label: EMI
Year: 1971-74; 1996
Total Timing: 69.44

 

 

 

This is rightly considered one of the great recitals of Vaughan Williams' song cycles.

I may prefer Philip Langridge in some of this music, but that is purely an individual taste in voice.

Otherwise, these are beautifully performed by one of the great British tenors.