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Track(s) taken from CDA67290

A mood

First line:
The songs of the birds in the sunshine
composer
Alison Travers (1895-1969)
1923
author of text
Edward J Macdermott (?-?)

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 49 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)
Alison Travers had a few years of musical prominence during the 1920s, when various piano and vocal compositions and orchestral suites by her were published. After receiving a good musical education, she went to live in the middle of the Malayan jungle without even a piano. There she wrote down as best she could the melodies which came to her, and on returning to London she had various dances published. It was Leslie Boosey, of the publisher Boosey & Co, who suggested she try ballad-writing. This she did most successfully with ‘A Mood’, whose words were written by Edward J Macdermott, the manager of the Finsbury Park Empire.

from notes by Andrew Lamb © 2002

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