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Track(s) taken from CDA67290

Love's garden of roses

First line:
Come, dearest heart, 'mid the flow'rs of June
composer
1914
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: 3 minutes 35 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)
Born in Slaithwaite, Yorkshire, Haydn Wood was given his unusual first name by parents inspired by Haydn’s Creation. He was raised on the Isle of Man and became one of the most successful of the ballad composers in the years around the First World War. Later, like Eric Coates, he moved on from ballad composition to become one of the prime composers of British light orchestral music. The most enduring of Wood’s ballads is ‘Roses of Picardy’, but others won almost equally huge popularity in their time. This charming example is one of the best.

from notes by Andrew Lamb © 2002

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