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Track(s) taken from CDA67290

The Cheviot Hills

First line:
I'll be near my journey's end
composer
author of text

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: 2 minutes 47 seconds

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

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)
John Gair Robson, better known as Jack Robson, was one of the best-loved figures on Tyneside for his popular songs. These included examples in Geordie dialect such as ‘Whereivvor ye gan ye’re sure to find a Geordie’ and ‘The puddens that me mother used to myek’. More formal in style was his evocation of the local scenery of ‘The Cheviot Hills’. Robson was born in Annitsford, the same Northumbrian village as the singer Owen Brannigan. An organist and school headmaster, he used his musical talents to benefit pupils wherever he taught in Northumberland.

from notes by Andrew Lamb © 2002

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