Songs by Armstrong Gibbs [Import]

Stephen Varcoe (Performer), Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (Composer), Roger Vignoles (Performer), Geraldine McGreevy (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Stephen Varcoe, Roger Vignoles, Geraldine McGreevy
• Composer: Cecil Armstrong Gibbs
• Audio CD (April 8, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Hyperion UK
• ASIN: B000088E0Q
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #542,738 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great case made for English song, February 5, 2008

By 

T. Smith (Elizabethtown, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Songs by Armstrong Gibbs (Audio CD)

After listening to this disc, is becomes clear that Armstrong Gibbs is yet another English composer whose music is inexplicably forgotten today. If you like Vaughan Williams, Bax, and other contemporary English composers, e.g. the songs on Bryn Terfel's The Vagabond, you will enjoy this recording. I was hooked right away with this version of The Bells (words by Walter de la Mare, one of Gibbs' favorite poets) as sung by Stephen Varcoe--surely this is a minor masterpiece of music, poetry, and singing.

This is a generous program, and both Varcoe and soprano Geraldine McGreevy do a nice job, as well as pianist Roger Vignoles. Some songs stand out above the others, such as Silver, Arrogant Poppies, and Ann's Cradle Song, but there are many gems. Since Gibbs wrote over 160 songs, we can only hope to have more of them recorded in the future (not to mention the string quartets and much other music).