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Track(s) taken from SIGCD293

The apple tree

First line:
The tree of life my soul hath seen
composer
Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012)
2009
author of text
Anonymous - Romantic
from 'Divine Hymns or Spiritual Songs' compiled by Joshua Smith (1810)

BBC Singers, Paul Brough (conductor)
Recording details: January 2012
Studio 1, BBC Maida Vale, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Michael Emery
Engineered by Susan Thomas
Release date: July 2012
Total duration: 3 minutes 3 seconds
 

Reviews

'A cappella arrangements of songs by Gershwin, Duke Ellington and Cole Porter serve as encores, allowing the BBC Singers to swing in slightly freer style together. Their high standards of execution, under Paul Brough's empathetic direction, grace the entire programme' (BBC Music Magazine)» More
PERFORMANCE
RECORDING

'From being regarded as a member of the British avant garde in the late 1950s, through his performances as a jazz pianist and accompanist, to composing operas for Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden and scores for high-profile British and American movies, Bennett has commuted effortlessly between styles. These unaccompanied choral works, immaculately presented by the BBC Singers conducted by Paul Brough, includes pieces from the last 13 years of that career' (The Guardian)» More

The apple tree is an irresistible carol. Composed in 2009, it sets a poem (also known as ‘Jesus Christ the Apple Tree’) probably written by an unknown New Englander in the mid-18th century and first published in New Hampshire in 1784. Apple trees were a feature of early New England and there was an old English tradition, in cider-growing regions, of ‘orchard wassailing’—singing to apple trees to ensure their good health in the coming year. The text has become internationally known as a Christmas carol and there have been several settings before Bennett’s, which must, nevertheless, be one of the finest the poem has received.

from notes by Malcolm MacDonald © 2012

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