O Waly, Waly (Anon/Britten) - from CDA67725 - Hyperion Records

Windy Day near Blainville by Rosemary Hunt (1937-2003)
Reproduced by kind permission of Richard Townley

Track(s) taken from CDA67725

Britten began arranging folksongs for his wartime recitals with Pears. The first volume was published in 1943 and all of the seven settings in it are dedicated to friends he and Pears had made in America. Down by the Salley Gardens is dedicated to Clytie Hine Mundy, Pears’s singing teacher in the United States. It is an Irish folksong, with words by W B Yeats. Britten’s setting is simple and understated, with the subtlest of harmonic touches conveying the folly of youth with touching pathos.

View sleeve notes/artwork (PDF)

Recording details: November 2007
St Martin's Church, East Woodhay, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Produced by Philip Hobbs
Engineered by Philip Hobbs
Release date: August 2008
Total duration: 3 minutes 46 seconds

O Waly, Waly

First line:

The water is wide, I cannot get o'er

composer

Anonymous

arranger

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

The British Isles: Vol 3 No 6

author of text

Anonymous

A Somerset folk song

James Gilchrist (tenor), Alison Nicholls (harp)