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Track(s) taken from CDA66777

Loch Lomond

First line:
By yon bonny banks and yon bonny braes
composer
1921; traditional Scottish melody
author of text

Michael George (bass), Holst Singers, Stephen Layton (conductor)
Recording details: February 1995
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Martin Compton
Engineered by Antony Howell
Release date: October 1995
Total duration: 3 minutes 50 seconds

Cover artwork: The Allotment Garden (1899). Sir George Clausen (1852-1944)
Reproduced by permission of The Fine Art Society, London
 

Other recordings available for download

Peter Jones (tenor), The Philharmonic Chamber Choir, David Temple (conductor)
Matthew Vine (tenor), Armonico Consort, Christopher Monks (conductor)

Reviews

‘This new Vaughan Williams collection complements the Holst Singers' critically acclaimed 1993 CD of Holst partsongs (CDH55171) and is equally impressive … masterly, but also supremely musical … the Shakespeare settings are outstanding … the Holst Singers … sing with a spellbinding sense of atmosphere and crystal-clear textures. Strongly recommended for all admirers of Vaughan Williams and fine choral work’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘A most worthwhile enterprise, strongly recommended’ (Fanfare, USA)

«Une réussite artistique exemplaire» (Répertoire, France)

'En todo momento, los cantores de Layton demuenstran un dominio total y lenguaje musical de Vaughan Williams … Un hermoso disco' (CD Compact, Spain)
The Scottish folk-song Loch Lomond (or The bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond) was first published in 1841 in Vocal Melodies of Scotland. According to Scottish tradition, the words imply that when a Scotsman dies his soul travels to Scotland before passing on to the next world. Thus the high road pertains to the living and the low road to the dead. However, the original lyrics amounted to a Jacobean lament after the Battle of Culloden. According to one of the many interpretations based on this specific historical context, Loch Lomond is sung by the lover of a captured Jacobite rebel who is to be executed in London after a show trial. The executed rebels’ heads would be stuck on pikes and displayed at major towns along the main road (or 'high road') between London and Edinburgh, while relatives would walk back along the low road used by commoners.

from notes by Phillip Borg-Wheeler © 2016

Other albums featuring this work

All in the April evening
CDH88008Download only
Greensleeves
Studio Master: SIGCD447Download onlyStudio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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