Parry: O Mistress Mine

As English song came into full flower at the turn of the 20th century, Parry's substantial contribution to the genre became somewhat buried. Iain Burnside and his singers rediscover what has been forgotten by historical accident. Combining an innately English sensibility with a technical fastidiousness that owes much to the lieder of Brahms, Schumann and Wolf, every one of these songs demonstrates Parry's fundamental concern for sincerity and proper declamation of the words.

Hubert Parry is undergoing something of a revival, and these performances return his songs to the heart of his output, where the composer always felt they belonged.

Ailish Tynan was a Vilar Young Artist at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, a BBC New Generation Artist and won the Rosenblatt Recital Prize at the 2003 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competion. Susan Bickley is firmly established as one of the most accomplished mezzo sopranos of her generation. In May 2011 she received the prestigious Singer Award at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, the highest recognition for live classical music in the UK. William Dazeley won the 1989 Kathleen Ferrier Prize. He has appeared with many of the world's important opera houses and worked with many leading conductors and orchestras. Iain Burnside is the well-known pianist and broadcaster, with a reputation forged on his commitment to the song repertoire and his collaborations with leading international singers.

No-one better captures the regal stature and sense of occasion than Hubert Parry, whose immortal anthem ‘I was Glad’, has featured in Coronations, Royal Weddings, Jubilees and other grand ceremonial occasions since the Coronation of Edward VII in 1902, for which it was written. His hymn ‘Jerusalem’ of 1916 has become a revered mainstay of English public life.

This collection features many of his other anthems, including the beautiful Blest Pair of Sirens. The performance on this collection is especially rousing and features the fully-scored version for orchestra and choir.

Felicity Lott brings her delicacy and rich understanding to a collection of English song inspired by the idyllic Sussex countryside.

“A lovingly planned programme by Graham Johnson, beautifully sung by Dame Felicity” Gramophone

The Englishness typified here is not derived from one unique musical style; rather from each composerʼs response to the texts. Graham Johnson groups together songs under headings Country Courtship. . . To Music. . . . Loveʼs Philosophy. . . . Country Scenes. . . . Night & Dawn. . . .Childrenʼs Cornerʼ. . . and Envoys on this charming - and occasionally surprising - disc.

It includes songs by Quilter, Elgar, Parry, Ireland, Bax and Holst. The Elgar songs Speak Music and In Moonlight (included under the heading ʻTo Musicʼ) remind us that the paradigm of Englishness Elgar cultivated was more to do with his association with ʻPomp and Circumstanceʼ than necessarily musical matters. As part of ʻCountry Scenesʼ, Bridgeʼs jolly Go Not, Happy Day gives nothing away about its year of publication, 1916, and the scars which led to later music of a more sombre tone.

Also included are a selection of Harold Fraser-Simpsonʼs songs based on verses from A.A. Milneʼs The Hums of Pooh, and settings by Liza Lehmann - the Edwardian English operatic soprano - including Matilda from ʻFour Cautionary Talesʼ by Hillaire Belloc, a duet with both parts taken by Felicity Lott. The CD takes its title from Peter Warlockʼs setting of another Belloc text - My Own Country.

Dame Felicity Lott lives in Sussex and was the very first artist to perform in the Music Room at Champs Hill. In 2005 she and Graham Johnson returned there to mark the 30th anniversary of her Wigmore debut with this programme (previously release on the ASV label). Champs Hill Records will also be releasing new recordings of further Elgar songs with Dame Felicity in October 2011.

Ranging from Shakespeare’s contemporaries to the Victorian school and beyond, this fine box set calls on some of the greatest artists—including a wealth of British talent—to celebrate the diversity and longevity of English song. From simple melodic expression to the textural sophistication of orchestral settings, with the sea and landscape assuming a prominent role throughout, the songs included here comprise a fitting tribute, simultaneously revealing the rich cultural legacy of English poetry.