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Track(s) taken from CDA67290

Bird Songs at Eventide

First line:
Over the quiet hills
composer
1926
author of text
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 46 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)
This lovely ballad by Eric Coates—with its gentle mood of introspection and longing—was written in 1926 . ‘Royden Barrie’, who wrote the words (and also the words to A brown bird singing) was in fact Rodney Richard Bennett, the father of Richard Rodney Bennett. Born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire, Coates had over 130 published songs to his credit, most of them before he made an even deeper impression as the master of elegantly tuneful light orchestral music. Barrie inspired Coates to some of his most successful songs, as witness the easy melodic invention of this example. This song, too, enjoyed popularity in French translation.

from notes by Robert White © 1995

Other albums featuring this work

Bird Songs at Eventide
CDH55156
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