Ralph Vaughan Williams: Folk Songs - Volume 4

This is the fourth and final volume in the critically acclaimed series of albums recording all 81 of the folk songs in English that Ralph Vaughan Williams arranged for voice and piano or violin. 57 songs have not previously been recorded in these arrangements. This album has 19 tracks including 13 world premieres. All but four of the songs were collected by Maud Karpeles in Newfoundland in 1929 and 1930. When she got back, she and Vaughan Williams spent some hours going through everything that she had found, selecting the 15 songs presented here - with an emphasis, it seems, on the sadder songs. Maud Karpeles said that her life would have been worthwhile if collecting 'She's Like the Swallow' had been all that she had done. Jonathan Woolf wrote on Musicweb International: 'This marvellous series is full of discovery and a genuine sense of engagement with the medium. When we have the final volume we'll have a compact body of foundational folklore that will prove of enduring value to the VW lover.' Praised by Opera for her "dramatic wit and vocal control", British soprano Mary Bevan is internationally renowned in baroque, classical and contemporary repertoire, and appears regularly with leading conductors, orchestras and ensembles around the world. Opera singer Nicky Spence is one of Scotland's proudest sons and his unique skills as a singing actor and the rare honesty of his musicianship are steadfastly earning him a place at the top of the classical music profession. Roderick Williams is one of this country's most sought after baritones and is constantly in demand, encompassing a repertoire from the baroque to world premières. In 2016 he won the Royal Philharmonic Society's Singer of the Year award. A multiple-prize winning and critically acclaimed conductor and accompanist, William Vann is equally at home on the podium or at the piano and is the founder and Artistic Director of the London English Song Festival. CRITICAL ACCLAIM "all performed with character and artistry by these singers and above all the superbly sensitive pianism of their accompanist William Vann." "Vaughan Williams fans should have no hesitation in snapping it up" - BBC Music Magazine, Performance, 4 STARS, Recording, 5 STARS "all three vocal soloists - Mary Bevan, Nicky Spence and Roderick Williams - cover themselves in glory, and, as ever, William Vann proves an ideally poised and understanding exponent of RVW's tasteful, immaculately judged accompaniments." - Gramophone "This disc is a worthy and highly enjoyable conclusion to an important series. If you're a Vaughan Williams fan and, for some reason, you haven't yet investigated these discs I urge you to do so. They will surely deepen your understanding and appreciation of this great composer." MusicWeb International

Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams

Number of Discs: 1

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