Britten: Folk Song Arrangements, Vol. 2

Graham Titus (Performer), Thomas Allen (Performer), Benjamin Britten (Composer), Simon Joly (Conductor), Christopher Barnett (Conductor), Steuart Bedford (Conductor), Judith Harris (Performer), Northern Sinfonia Chorus (Orchestra), David Owen Norris (Performer), Margaret Feaviour (Performer), Philip Langridge (Performer), Vernon Kirk (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Graham Titus, Thomas Allen, Judith Harris, David Owen Norris, Margaret Feaviour, et al.
• Orchestra: Northern Sinfonia Chorus
• Conductor: Simon Joly, Christopher Barnett, Steuart Bedford
• Composer: Benjamin Britten
• Audio CD (July 19, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B0009SQC8M
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342,691 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This second volume of Britten's folksongs is more fun, June 24, 2006

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Britten: Folk Song Arrangements, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

In 1995 Collins Classics issued a comprehensive 3-CD set of Britten's many folksong arrangements. Now that they're on Naxos, you can buy all 52 solo songs on two CDs or this one, a single CD devoted to various orhcestrations, choral arrangements, and other oddments.

Frankly, even though this catch-all is considered an addendum, I found it more fun than the more famous solo songs. Britten had lots of interesting things to say via the orchestra, and the varied textures allow for moe diversity than piano alone. I'm not fond of boy choirs, but Britten was, so we get a handful of those settings, which are either charming or twee depending on your viewpoint.

As before, Philip Langridge bears the brunt of almost all the songs--they were originally set for Britten's life partner, tenor Peter Pears. Langridge's lyric voice is easier to listen to than Pears's, but he's not nearly the artist. For all that, everything about this CD, including the conducting by Simon Joly, adds to the listener's pleasure. The only defect is that for the orchestral songs the singre is placed much too far back.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent source for Brittens' Folk Song Collection, May 27, 2007

By 

Priscilla Stilwell "Music Is Life..." (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Britten: Folk Song Arrangements, Vol. 2 (Audio CD)

The price is right, and the quality is good (notice I didn't say great, but the price brings it back to a "5"). In my opinion, you can never go wrong with Britten.