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Track(s) taken from CDA67290

Smilin' through

First line:
There's a little brown road windin' over the hill
composer
Arthur Penn (1875-1941)
1918
author of text
Arthur Penn (1875-1941)

Sir Thomas Allen (baritone), Malcolm Martineau (piano)
Recording details: January 2001
Champs Hill, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: February 2002
Total duration: 1 minutes 37 seconds

Cover artwork: Psyche Entering Cupid’s Garden (1903). John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)
Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, Lancashire / Bridgeman Images
 

Other recordings available for download

Robert White (tenor), Stephen Hough (piano)

Reviews

‘A persuasive case for the often sublime artistry of the humble parlour song … I found no trouble at all in listening to in continuously from start to finish. That no doubt has also much to do with the great gifts and skills of both artists’ (Gramophone)

‘Thomas Allen recalls happy evenings round the family piano and offers this well sung collection, which will strike a lost chord with many’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Done stylishly … by a great singer with a gorgeous voice’ (American Record Guide)

‘I was amazed, listening to the rich warmth of Thomas Allen's voice, just how many of these songs I knew … Popular, enduring tunes encapsulating a golden era, honestly performed by one of the great baritones of our age’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Recording and presentation are first rate … strongly recommended’ (MusicWeb International)

‘There is a warm and intimate feeling about Allen’s treatment of these songs … Malcolm Martineau’s accompaniments are exemplary’ (Opera News)

‘Our focus is on Allen’s strong, full-voiced renditions that rarely fail to ingratiate and impress … this is music for everyone’ (Classics Today)
Arthur A Penn, born in London, was a direct descendant of William Penn. He wrote an account of how the inspiration to write Smilin’ through came from an advert on a train which showed a country cottage with a road winding through fields. It dates from 1918. “I wrote the song in twenty minutes”, he said, “the music first, then the words, on the back of an envelope coming in one day on a Long Island train. I had no title for it—that came with the words”.

from notes by Robert White © 1995

Other albums featuring this work

Bird Songs at Eventide
Robert White (tenor), Stephen Hough (piano)
CDH55156

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