Precision, spot-on intonation and sensitive phrasing inform Tenebrae’s affectionate performances of these settings of great English poets… superbly balanced and textured; a soothing, uplifting antidote to our hectic lives
Editor’s Choice, Classic FM Magazine
Recordings
Hubert Parry: Songs of Farewell
Following a string of five-star reviews for their previous discs of 20th-century French choral music and Renaissance polyphony, the professional chamber choir Tenebrae go from strength to strength with this new recording of British part songs and choral music centered on Hubert Parry’s Songs of Farewell.
Composed towards the end of Parry’s life, the Songs of Farewell have taken on something of an epithetical interpretation; they are almost a musical summation of his compositional life, reflecting Parry’s love of English renaissance madrigals and partsongs as much as the influence on his work from German composers like Brahms – made more complicated as these works were composed as the country (and its music) fell out of favour at the start of the Great War.
This disc also includes works by Tavener, Sullivan, Holst, Rodney Bennett, Howells, Elgar and Vaughan Williams.
- Release Date: 25 July 2011
- Record Label: Signum Classics
- Catalogue Number: SIGCD267
- Location of Recording: St Alban the Martyr, Holborn, London
- Total Running Time: 01:15:54
- View/Download Liner Notes
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Full Recording (Digital Download): £
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Add individual tracks to your shopping cart by ticking their boxes in the table below.
| Buy | # | Title | Composer | Duration | Price | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Evening-Watch Op.43 No.1 | Gustav Holst | 04:59 | £ | Listen | |
| 2 | A Good-Night | Richard Rodney Bennett | 02:58 | £ | Listen | |
| 3 | Take him, earth, for cherishing | Herbert Howells | 09:02 | £ | Listen | |
| 4 | Funeral Ikos | John Tavener | 07:41 | £ | Listen | |
| 5 | Songs of Farewell: My soul, there is a country | Hubert Parry | 03:52 | £ | Listen | |
| 6 | Songs of Farewell: I know my soul hath power to know all things | Hubert Parry | 02:04 | £ | Listen | |
| 7 | Songs of Farewell: Never weather-beaten sail | Hubert Parry | 03:22 | £ | Listen | |
| 8 | Songs of Farewell: There is an old belief | Hubert Parry | 04:52 | £ | Listen | |
| 9 | Songs of Farewell: At the round earth’s imagined corners | Hubert Parry | 07:27 | £ | Listen | |
| 10 | Songs of Farewell: Lord, let me know mine end | Hubert Parry | 10:58 | £ | Listen | |
| 11 | They are at rest | Edward Elgar | 03:39 | £ | Listen | |
| 12 | The Turtle Dove | Ralph Vaughan Williams | 03:18 | £ | Listen | |
| 13 | The long day closes | Arthur Sullivan, arr. Philip Lawson | 03:48 | £ | Listen | |
| 14 | Rest | Ralph Vaughan Williams | 03:51 | £ | Listen | |
| 15 | Bring us, O Lord God | William H. Harris | 04:01 | £ | Listen |
Precision, spot-on intonation and sensitive phrasing inform Tenebrae’s affectionate performances of these settings of great English poets… superbly balanced and textured; a soothing, uplifting antidote to our hectic lives
Editor’s Choice, Classic FM Magazine
“…performed with Tenebrae’s customary poise”
The Financial Times
Tenebrae’s account of Parry’s Songs of Farewell abounds in subtleties of phrasing and telling distinctions of dynamic, yet flows beautifully, the textual narrative unfolding with a rare continuity and coherence. Technically the singing is impeccable without being at all effortful or studied…Huge credit to Nigel Short. Of this programme’s type, I can’t envisage hearing anything better.
BBC Music Magazine
“…ravishing performance by Tenebrae”
Gramophone Magazine
Nominated: BBC Music Magazine ‘Best Choral Performance’ Award (2012)
Editor’s Choice, Classic FM Magazine
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