This CD is reissued by ArkivMusic.
Notes and Editorial Reviews
There are two English musical traditions at work here. Ian Bostridge's reedy, agile tenor falls squarely into the mould of his illustrious predecessors, Peter Pears and Robert Tear. Britten's serenade unites the unique timbre of the British tenor voice with the great tradition of horn playing inaugurated by Dennis Brain and his successors, Alan Civil and Barry Tuckwell. If Bostridge does indeed live up to the standards of his exalted forebears, the same can't be said of horn player Marie Neunecker. She's nimble enough, but lacking in sheer weight of tone. Still, Bostridge is the star of show, executing Britten's intricate vocal writing with idiomatic ease. This is a good thing, for when it comes to the obscure W.H. Auden poems used in Our
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Hunting Fathers (an early opus that awkwardly recalls the composer's debt to Mahler, Berg, and Shostakovich), Bostridge's eloquent vocalism makes light of any difficulties of the text by keeping our attention focused on the music itself. Two additional humorous folk song settings, "O Waly, Waly" and "Oliver Cromwell", act as vehicles to further display Bostridge at his virtuoso best. The sonics are good, too. [10/27/1999]
--Barry Guerrero, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Op. 31 by Benjamin Britten
Performer:
Ian Bostridge (Tenor),
Marie-Luise Neunecker (French Horn)
Conductor:
Ingo Metzmacher
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1943; England
2.
Our Hunting Fathers, Op. 8 by Benjamin Britten
Performer:
Ian Bostridge (Tenor)
Conductor:
Daniel Harding
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Britten Sinfonia
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1936; England
3.
Folksongs (7), Volume 1: no 7, Oliver Cromwell by Benjamin Britten
Performer:
Ian Bostridge (Tenor)
Conductor:
Daniel Harding
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Britten Sinfonia
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1943; England
4.
Folksongs (7), Volume 3: no 6, O waly, waly by Benjamin Britten
Performer:
Ian Bostridge (Tenor)
Conductor:
Daniel Harding
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Britten Sinfonia
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1947; England
Sound Samples
Serenade Op. 31: Prologue (horn solo)
Serenade Op. 31: 1. Pastoral: The day's grown old (Charles Cotton)
Serenade Op. 31: 2. Nocturne: The splendour falls on castle walls (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
Serenade Op. 31: 3. Elegy: O Rose, thou art sick (William Blake)
Serenade Op. 31: 4. Dirge: This ae nighte (anon. 15th century)
Serenade Op. 31: 5. Hymn: Queen and huntress (Ben Jonson)
Serenade Op. 31: 6. Sonnet: O soft embalmer of the still midnight (John Keats)
Serenade Op. 31: Epilogue (horn solo)
English Folksong: O Waly, Waly (Folksong from Somerset) (arranged Britten)
Our Hunting Fathers Op. 8 (text devised by W. H. Auden): Prologue (W. H. Auden)
Our Hunting Fathers Op. 8 (text devised by W. H. Auden): A. Rats Away! (anon. modernised by W. H. Auden)
Our Hunting Fathers Op. 8 (text devised by W. H. Auden): B. Messalina (anon. )
Our Hunting Fathers Op. 8 (text devised by W. H. Auden): C. Dance of Death (Hawking for the Partridge) (T. Ravenscroft)
Our Hunting Fathers Op. 8 (text devised by W. H. Auden): Epilogue and Funeral March (W. H. Auden)
English Folksong: Oliver Cromwell (Nursery Rhyme from Suffolk) (arr. Britten)
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