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Track(s) taken from CDA67313

Six Studies in English Folk Song

composer
1926; composed for May and Anne Mukle who gave the first performance in June 1926

The Nash Ensemble, Paul Watkins (cello), Ian Brown (piano)
Recording details: July 2001
Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: May 2002
Total duration: 9 minutes 5 seconds

Cover artwork: Dusk (1903) by Sir George Clausen (1852-1944)
Reproduced by kind permission of The Clausen Estate / Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
 

Other recordings available for download

Natalie Clein (cello), Christian Ihle Hadland (piano)

Reviews

‘Pliant and sympathetic performances of deeply rewarding repertoire. This disc will surely give much pleasure’ (Gramophone)

‘Superb performances’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘An intriguing treasure trove’ (The Strad)

‘First-rate, insufficiently appreciated music in excellent renderings, and good sound. Well worth your attention’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Hyperion's engineering is excellent throughout, and the Nash Ensemble, who play with great sensitivity and exhibit a meticulous concern for focus, draw each distinct element into the most entertaining of music, and delightfully project an illustrious style in composition that you will want to hear time and time again’ (Hi-Fi Plus)
English folksong was crucial in the development of Vaughan Williams’s personal voice, and he incorporated folksongs into a number of works including the operas Hugh the Drover (1912–14) and Sir John in Love (1924–28), as well as the Fantasia on Christmas Carols (1912). He used them extensively too in the hymn collections that he helped edit, The English Hymnal (1906), and Songs of Praise (1925). Another work where folksong provides the basis of the musical material is the Six Studies in English Folksong for cello and piano. They were written for and dedicated to the cellist May Mukle, who gave the premiere with her sister Anne, on 4 June 1926 at the Scala Theatre, London, as part of the English Folk Dance Society Festival.

The studies are all brief and are not simply transcriptions of the folksongs used, but elaborations on them. All but the final study are in slow tempos and the songs they are based on are respectively: ‘Lovely on the Water’ (which is the same melody Vaughan Williams used in the second of his Five English Folksongs under the title ‘The Springtime of the Year’), ‘Spurn Point’, ‘Van Diemen’s Land’, ‘She borrowed some of her mother’s gold’, ‘The Lady and the Dragon’ and ‘As I walked over London Bridge’.

from notes by Andrew Burn © 2002

Les chansons populaires anglaises ont joué un rôle essentiel dans l’évolution du langage personnel de Vaughan Williams, et il en a introduit dans plusieurs de ses œuvres, dont les opéras Hugh the Drover (1912–1914) et Sir John in Love (1924–1928), ainsi que dans sa Fantasia on Christmas Carols (1912). Il en a également fait un abondant usage dans les deux recueils d’hymnes qu’il a contribué à éditer, The English Hymnal (1906) et Songs of Praise (1925). Enfin, ces chansons populaires ont servi de fondement au matériau musical des Six Studies in English Folksong (Six études de chansons populaires anglaises) pour violoncelle et piano. Écrites pour la violoncelliste May Mukle, à qui elles sont dédiées, elles ont été créées par cette dernière et sa sœur Anne le 4 juin 1926 au Scala Theatre de Londres, dans le cadre du festival de l’English Folk Dance Society.

Brèves, ces études ne se contentent pas de transcrire les chansons utilisées mais les développe. Toutes, sauf la dernière, sont de tempo lent; les chansons utilisées sont, dans l’ordre: «Lovely on the Water» (mélodie également utilisée par Vaughan Williams dans la deuxième de ses Five English Folksongs, sous le titre: «The Springtime of the Year»), «Spurn Point», «Van Diemen’s Land», «She borrowed some of her mother’s gold», «The Lady and the Dragon» et «As I walked over London Bridge».

extrait des notes rédigées par Andrew Burn © 2002
Français: Josée Bégaud

Englische Volkslieder waren für die Entwicklung Vaughan Williams’ eigener Stimme ausschlaggebend, und er fügte Volkslieder in mehrere Werke ein, so zum Beispiel in die Opern Hugh the Drover (1912–14) und Sir John in Love (1924–28), sowie in die Fantasia on Christmas Carols (1912). Er nutzte sie auch extensiv in den Gesangbüchern, die er mit herausgab: The English Hymnal (1906) und Songs of Praise (1925). Ein weiteres Werk in dem Volkslieder die Basis des musikalischen Material liefern sind die Six Studies in English Folksong für Cello und Klavier. Sie waren für die Cellistin May Mukle geschrieben und auch ihr gewidmet worden. Zusammen mit ihrer Schwester Anne gab sie im Rahmen des English Folk Dance Society Festival die Premiere am 4. Juni 1926 im Scala Theatre, London.

Die Etüden sind alle kurz, und keine bloßen Bearbeitungen der jeweiligen Volkslieder, sondern Ausarbeitungen. Alle bis auf die letzte haben langsame Tempi, und basieren auf folgenden Liedern: „Lovely on the Water“ (welches dieselbe Melodie ist, wie die, die Vaughan Williams in dem zweiten seiner Five English Folksongs unter dem Titel „The Springtime of the Year“ verarbeitete), „Spurn Point“, „Van Diemen’s Land“, „She borrowed some of her mother’s gold“, „The Lady and the Dragon“ und „As I walked over London Bridge“.

aus dem Begleittext von Andrew Burn © 2002
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Clarke (R): Viola Sonata; Bridge: Cello Sonata
Studio Master: CDA68253Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads available
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