Ailish Tynan, soprano; Catherine Wyn-Rogers, mezzo-soprano; Roderick Williams, baritone; Christopher Glynn, piano
Michael Head (1900-1976) Dear delight / Ohm for a March wind / Sweet Chance, that led my steps abroad / Tewkesbury Road / The Estuary / Limehouse Reach / Over the rim of the moon / October Valley / The Garden Seat / Foxgloves / The Viper / Had I a golden pound / Lean out of the window / A Piper / A Green Cornfield / Love's Lament / Star Candles / The little road to Bethlehem / Money, O! / Three Songs of Venice / My sword for the King / Your cannot dream things lovelier
Who is Michael Head? His name may be largely forgotten but the music here forms part of the rich seam of English song in the manner of Quilter, Gurney and Warlock. Born in 1900, he worked modestly as a singer, pianist, teacher, broadcaster and adjudicator, writing his first song (The ships of Arcady) aged 19, studying at the Royal Academy of Music, where he became a professor of piano aged 27, remaining there for the rest of his career. At the centre of his composing life were songs, which he used to perform as a kind of one-man band, accompanying himself at the piano. Out of more than 100, here's a choice selection: setting poets such as Walter de la Mare, John Masefield and Christina Rossetti, many of them focus on the pleasures of England--its flora and fauna, its changing seasons and lyrical landscapes. They're sung by three of the brightest stars in today's vocal firmament, Ailish Tynan (making her Hyperion debut), Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Roderick Williams, accompanied by Christopher Glynn, who adds Head to his previous recordings of Reger and Brahms.
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Price: $19.98