Hubert Parry - Twelve Sets of English Lyrics, Vol. 3 (Various Artists)

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Composer: Hubert Parry

1. English Lyrics, Set 10: No. 1, My Heart Is like a Singing Bird
2. English Lyrics, Set 11: No. 4, The Blackbird
3. English Lyrics, Set 11: No. 6, If I Might Ride on Puissant Wing
4. English Lyrics, Set 10: No. 3, A Moment of Farewell
5. English Lyrics, Set 12: No. 7, The Sound of Hidden Music
6. English Lyrics, Set 3: No. 5, Through the Ivory Gate
7. English Lyrics, Set 8: No. 2, Nightfall in Winter
8. English Lyrics, Set 7: No. 6, Sleep
9. English Lyrics, Set 12: No. 1, When the Dew Is Falling
10. English Lyrics, Set 4: No. 1, Thine Eyes Still Shined for Me
11. English Lyrics, Set 4: No. 2, When Lovers Meet Again
12. English Lyrics, Set 6: No. 4, A Lover's Garland
13. English Lyrics, Set 11: No. 5, The Faithful Lover
14. English Lyrics, Set 5: No. 1, A Stray Nymph of Dian
15. English Lyrics, Set 5: No. 6, A Girl to Her Glass
16. English Lyrics, Set 12: No. 4, When the Sun's Great Orb
17. English Lyrics, Set 11: No. 1, One Golden Thread
18. English Lyrics, Set 8: No. 1, Whence
19. English Lyrics, Set 6: No. 5, At the Hour the Long Day Ends
20. English Lyrics, Set 8: No. 5, Looking Backward
21. English Lyrics, Set 11: No. 8, She Is My Love Beyond All Thought
22. English Lyrics, Set 10: No. 5, From a City Window
23. English Lyrics, Set 11: No. 3, The Spirit of the Spring
24. English Lyrics, Set 10: No. 4, The Child and the Twilight
25. English Lyrics, Set 8: No. 6, Grapes

Sarah Fox, soprano

Roderick Williams, baritone

Andrew West, piano

Date: 2018

Label: SOMM Recordings

https://somm-recordings.com/recording/parry-english-lyrics-volume-three/

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Review

Gems abound on this third and final volume in what has been a most enterprising survey, and I’m happy to report that, as on previous instalments (12/15, 8/18), Sarah Fox and Roderick Williams are at the top of their game throughout. Sample, if you will, the former’s thrillingly commanding delivery of the dramatic ‘When the sun’s great orb’ from Set 12 and ecstatic ‘My heart is like a singing bird’ that opens Set 10 (conceived for the formidably accomplished husband-and-wife team of Agnes Nicholls and Hamilton Harty – and the irresistible curtain-raiser here); and what disarming wonder and expressive ardour Fox brings to ‘Thine eyes still shined for me’ and ‘When lovers meet again’ respectively (the first two songs from Set 4).

We are offered no fewer than nine settings of poems by Parry’s fellow student at Eton College and Oxford University, John Sturgis (1848-1904), perhaps the most powerful of which comprises ‘Through the ivory gate’ from Set 3, its dialogue between the dreaming narrator and ghost of a young friend brought to life with touching conviction by Roderick Williams and his excellent accompanist Andrew West (who contributes splendidly throughout, by the way). Likewise, ‘The Faithful Lover’, ‘She is my love beyond all thought’ (both from the posthumously published Set 11) and Set 6’s entrancing ‘A Lover’s Garland’ show Williams at his lustrous, articulate best. Don’t overlook, either, Set 8’s devastatingly poignant ‘Looking backward’ and evocative ‘Nightfall in Winter’, let alone the sublime ‘From a City Window’ from Set 10 (surely one of Parry’s most enduring creations).

So a joy from start to finish. Jeremy Dibble provides a customarily sage booklet-essay and the sound is commendably truthful to boot. Followers of this valuable series can acquire with confidence.

-- Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone

More reviews:

https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Nov/Parry_lyrics_v3_SOMMCD272.htm

https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/choral-song/parry-twelve-sets-of-english-lyrics-vol-3

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Hubert Parry (27 February 1848 – 7 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. As a composer he is best known for compositions such as the choral song "Jerusalem", the coronation anthem "I was glad", and the ode Blest Pair of Sirens. His orchestral works include five symphonies and a set of Symphonic Variations. In 1895 Parry succeeded George Grove as head of the Royal College of Music, remaining in the post for the rest of his life. His influence on later composers, such as Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Frank Bridge and John Ireland, is widely recognised.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Parry

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