There Is Sweet Music: English Choral Songs, 1890 - 1950

Cambridge Singers (Performer), John Rutter (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Cambridge Singers, John Rutter
• Audio CD (February 25, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Collegium
• ASIN: B00006O0OB
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,087 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Stanford: Partsongs Op. 119 No 3, Bluebird

2. Delius: To be sung of a summer night on the water, 2 songs for chorus

3. Elgar: Partsongs for chorus, Op.53 No 1, There Is Sweet Music

4. Elgar: My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land for Chorus, Op.18, No. 3

5. Vaughan-Williams: Shakespeare Songs for chorus

6. Moeran: The Sailor and Young Nancy, for chorus

7. Traditional: Brigg Fair

8. Irish Traditional: Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)

9. Anon.: The Three Ravens

10. Anon.: My Sweetheart's Like Venus

11. Anon.: The Oak and the Ash

12. Stanford: Quick! We Have But A Second for chorus

13. Britten: Flower Songs for SATB chorus, Op. 47

Editorial Reviews

‘I have rarely been so stunned by the opening track of a disc before. The performance of Stanford’s The Blue Bird here attains the sublime.’ Hi-Fi News & Record Review

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How sweet it is, September 25, 2005

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: There Is Sweet Music: English Choral Songs, 1890 - 1950 (Audio CD)

This disc is a bit different from many of the Cambridge Singers' discs in that it is exclusively secular songs. This was recorded at the Great Hall of University College School, London, in 1986, and originally released on vinyl. I cannot find an analog/digital code (many vinyl originals were first recorded in analog and then transferred to digital, sometimes clumsily) - despite this, the recording quality is crisp, clear, and vibrant.

--Music--
The music here is simply gorgeous. English musical tradition is long in the area of folk songs, but there was a waning of folk songs during Georgian and Victorian times. Also, despite the tradition of choral music which has been strong in England continuously, there was a definite resurgence of interest with the advent of the Oxford Movement in the nineteenth century.

The music here represents the work of many prominent English composers - Vaughan Williams, Holst, Britten, Delius, Stanford, and Elgar; others whose names are less well known generally are also represented, such as Moeran, Grainger, Chapman, and Bairstow. Vaughan Williams is represented in his setting of three Shakespeare texts to music ('Full Fathom Five', 'The cloud-capp'd towers', and 'Over Hill, Over Dale'). Britten is represented with Five Flower Songs. The title piece comes from a text chosen by Elgar - 'There is sweet music', according to Rutter, demonstrates a wonderful ability to match words to music in a way he describes as uncanny.

There is poetry in the texts and in the music here.

--Liner Notes--
The notes for this recording include the titles and words of each song together with source citations. There is also a brief essay on this musical period in English history. One thing conspicuously missing is much biographical information about John Rutter, or any descriptive information about the Cambridge Singers. This disc does not even have a list of the singers.

--John Rutter--
Rutter was born in London and educated at Clare College, Cambridge. This was where his career as a composer, arranger and conductor began. His early work was with groups at King's College Chapel at Cambridge as well as the Bath Choir and Philharmonic Orchestra. He has worked for the BBC providing music for educational series such as 'The Archaeology of the Bible Lands', until in 1979 he began forming the Cambridge Singers, and has continued a remarkable career of performance and recording as their director ever since.

--The Cambridge Singers--
The Cambridge Singers are a mixed choir of voices, many of whom were members of choir of Rutter's college, Clare College, Cambridge. While they specialise in English and Latin liturgical pieces, they have a wide range of recordings that span from modern compositions (including a remarkable requiem by Rutter) to English folk songs of the Middle Ages. Many are former members of the choir of Clare College and other Cambridge collegiate choirs (hence the name, Cambridge Singers). In the quarter-century since the founding, the Cambridge Singers have produced an impressive body of recordings.

This is a gorgeous recording.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something about British Choral Music..., July 18, 2005

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: There Is Sweet Music: English Choral Songs, 1890 - 1950 (Audio CD)

It is such pleasure to see this re-release of 1986 recording by John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers from the Great Hall of University College School, London. The original recording has long been a favorite of legions of devotees of the British Choral tradition and this collection remains one of the finest samplings of significant a capella songs available.

Opening with the hauntingly simple and beautiful 'The blue bird' by CV Stanford (to whom this album was dedicated), the tone of the CD is set as a stroll through the mists and bogs of the English countryside. Songs by Frederick Delius (one featuring the then unappreciated tenor soloist Mark Padmore!), Edward Elgar, various folk songs beautifully arranged for four-part chorus, the 'Five Flower Songs' by Benjamin Britten, and finally the extraordinary 'Three Shakespeare Songs' set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams are all included in this generous recital.

Vaughan Williams songs are brief but immaculately written choral works. 'Full fathom five' and 'The cloud-capped towers' find all the mystery in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' while 'Over hill, over dale' is the quintessential musical rendering of the fairies frolics from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Rutter and the Cambridge Singers are splendid and the acoustic of the recording hall adds just the right amount of resonance to complete the magic of these songs. Highly recommended! Grady Harp, July 05

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably gorgeous, April 8, 2005

By 

J. Nordstrom (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: There Is Sweet Music: English Choral Songs, 1890 - 1950 (Audio CD)

This is one of my all-time favorite choral CDs -- from start to finish, the harmonies are gorgeous, the mood contemplative, and the singing (as usual with the Cambridge Singers) is inspired. The title track is stunning, and the Londonderry Air is one of the most beautiful wordless arrangements you'll ever hear. I also love "The Oak and the Ash," although it's hard to pick favorites on such a uniformly wonderful CD. I myself am a serious singer, and this is the kind of music that keeps me coming back to rehearsals. Buy it, you will definitely never regret it!