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Track(s) taken from CDA67115

The British Grenadiers

First line:
Some talk of Alexander and some of Hercules
composer
1770
author of text

Joseph Cornwell (tenor), The Parley of Instruments, Peter Holman (conductor), Psalmody
Recording details: April 1999
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Martin Compton
Engineered by Antony Howell & Julian Millard
Release date: March 2000
Total duration: 4 minutes 37 seconds
 

Reviews

‘Delightfully sung by Bott and Cornwell to a joyful accompaniment’ (Gramophone)

‘Stylish interpretations … elegantly shaped wind playing by The Parley of Instruments … the disc provides valuable insight into early 18th century music and national identity’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘A winning disc’ (The Independent)

‘The performances share the brio and stylishness we associate with Holman’s Parley of Instruments team … this is a delightful mélange of Georgian Britishness in its different moods’ (International Record Review)

‘The Parley are on delightfully relaxed form, Holman’s direction unfailingly strikes the right note, and the singing exudes encore freshness. A winning collection all round’ (Classic CD)

‘A smashing disc’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘This is one of those rare collections in which every one of its 16 pieces is a gem’ (Fanfare, USA)
The version of The British Grenadiers recorded here was published in about 1770, and may well be the original, though the first half of the tune is similar to several sixteenth- and seventeenth-century tunes, and the references to ‘fusees’ and ‘looped clothes’ seem to refer to the equipment of grenadiers from around 1700 rather than the late eighteenth century. The fine arrangement in the Handelian idiom was printed in short score, with three-part choral writing similar to much parish church music of the period. The writing suggests the presence of trumpets and drums, which I have taken the liberty of adding.

from notes by Peter Holman © 2000

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