Gerald Finzi - Songs to words by Thomas Hardy (Martyn Hill; Stephen Varcoe)

Information

Composer: Gerald Finzi

CD1:

• (01) Earth and Air and Rain, Op. 15
• (11) Till Earth outwears, Op. 19a
• (18) I said to Love, Op. 19b

CD2:

• (01) A Young Man's Exhortation, Op. 14
• (11) Before and After Summer, Op. 16

Martyn Hill, tenor
Stephen Varcoe, baritone
Clifford Benson, piano

Date: 1984/2009
Label: Hyperion
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDD22070

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Review

This material, now being offered as a Hyperion “Dyad” twofer was originally recorded in 1984 and issued on two separate, full-priced discs (66161 and 66162). Neither, as far as I can tell, was ever reviewed in these pages.

Of Italian Jewish descent, the much-admired English composer Gerald Finzi (1901–1956) was loosely allied—very loosely—with the Vaughan Williams, Holst, Bliss, Rubbra, and Howard Ferguson crowd. In the main, Finzi found his passion in setting poetry to song, having a special fondness for the verses of Thomas Hardy and later William Wordsworth. As it turned out, however, Finzi’s most lasting legacy would be two works, Dies natalis , a cantata for tenor solo and string orchestra on poems by Thomas Traherne, and a purely orchestral work, a cello concerto written in 1955.

The five song cycles on poems by Hardy, collected together in this two-disc album, range in dates from the earliest, A Young Man’s Exhortation , first performed in 1933, to the latest set of songs that was gathered together by Finzi himself, Before and after Summer , which dates from 1949. In between—1936—came Earth and Air and Rain . The two remaining cycles, Till Earth Outwears and I said to Love , the latter of which partially dates from 1956, the composer’s last year, were both groupings comprised of stand-alone songs that were arbitrarily conflated into cycles by Finzi’s executors and published after his death.

I think it’s fair to say that very few 20th-century English composers equaled and probably none surpassed Finzi when it came to setting verse in their native tongue. His musical scansion of a poem’s metrical patterns, based on vowel accents and syllabic stresses, has a peerless precision to it that causes the music to sound as if it is the poem merely heard in another dimension, as opposed to a separate and distinct medium that is layered on top of the poetry. This perfect merging into one is unfailing throughout, but let me cite the patter song, “Rollicum-rorum” from the Earth and Air and Rain cycle as just one example of Finzi’s sure ear for the word-music synthesis.

Hill and Varcoe are not really in competition with each other for top honors here; one is a tenor, the other a baritone. The range and tonal characteristics of their voices are quite different, and the cycles assigned to each singer suit those qualities beautifully. Listen to Hill’s breathtaking mezza voce floating of the words “Till earth outwears” in the song titled “In years defaced” from the Till Earth Outwears cycle. Or listen to Varcoe’s heart-piercing plea at the end of “In five-score summers” from the I said to Love cycle: “That thy worm should be my worm, Love!”

It’s hard to believe these discs originally appeared 25 years ago. If you did not acquire them then, please do so now for a guaranteed musically transformative experience.

-- Jerry Dubins, FANFARE

More reviews:
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/finzi-earth-and-air-and-rain
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/finzi-earth-and-air-and-rain-0
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2010/Oct10/finzi_cdd22070.htm
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Finzi-Earth-Air-Rain-Hill/dp/B002DJOU4S

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Gerald Finzi (14 July 1901 – 27 September 1956) was a British composer. He studied with Ernest Farrar, Edward Bairstow and Reginald Owen Morris. Finzi is best known as a choral composer, but also wrote in other genres. Large-scale compositions by Finzi include the cantata Dies natalis for solo voice and string orchestra, and his concertos for cello and clarinet. Finzi also wrote nine song cycles and a few chamber works. Thanks to both of his sons and the support of other enthusiasts, as well as the work of the Finzi Trust and the Finzi Friends, Finzi’s music enjoyed a great resurgence from the late 20th century onwards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Finzi
http://www.geraldfinzi.com/

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Martyn Hill (born 14 September 1944 in Kent, England) is one of Britain's leading tenors. His career has taken him to many parts of the world, working with such conductors as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Richard Hickox, Neville Marriner, Yehudi Menuhin, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Sanderling and Wolfgang Sawallisch. Hill's repertoire in recital, concert and opera is large, ranging from the Baroque to contemporary music. He has made some ninety recordings including a Schubert recital with Graham Johnson, and a CD of Tippett's songs to mark the composer's ninetieth birthday, all for Hyperion.
https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Hill-Martyn.htm

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Stephen Varcoe (born 19 May 1949 in Lostwithiel, Cornwall) is an English classical bass-baritone singer. He was educated at The King's School, Canterbury and King's College, Cambridge, where he sang in the choir. He later completed a PhD at the University of York. Varcoe has appeared internationally in opera and concert, and is known for Baroque and contemporary music and as a notable singer of Lieder. He has worked with such conductors as Oliver Knussen, Trevor Pinnock, Richard Hickox, Roger Norrington and John Eliot Gardiner. Varcoe also wrote a book on the art of singing English song.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Varcoe

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