Bridge: There Is a Willow Grows Aslant a Brook; Three Songs; Britten: Lachrymae; Elegy

by Helene Clement, Sarah Connolly, Alasdair Beatson

Overview

Frank Bridge was Benjamin Britten's teacher, and Britten spoke admiringly of Bridge until the end of his life. When Britten departed for the U.S. just before the beginning of World War II, Bridge gave him the 1843 viola heard on this recording; it was the last time the two would see each other. In a way, this viola is the star of the recording. It has a remarkable tone, quiet, melancholy, and rather gentle-speaking even in emotionally intense passages. The Chandos label, whose engineering work at Suffolk's Potton Hall is generally a pleasure, outdoes itself here with a chamber music ambiance of the best kind, intimate and reflective. Violist Helene Clement populates the program with works mostly by Bridge. To get an entire album's worth of viola music by these composers, she has to arrange Bridge's two-movement Cello Sonata in D minor, and fortunately, her rendering is highly effective; the first movement is arresting from the very start. She continues with Britten's arrangement of the chamber orchestra work There is a Willow Grows aslant a brook, a late and tonally complex Bridge work in which one can see his influence on Britten especially clearly. There are also three Bridge songs, given fine readings by Sarah Connolly, a fascinating piece of Britten juvenilia, and the Lachrymae, Reflections on a Song of Dowland, Op. 48, a late Britten work that seems to sum up this little strand of music beautifully. It is not a large strand in the history of English music, but it is delightfully immersive here. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	08/12/2022
Label:	CHANDOS
UPC:	0095115224724

Tracks

1. Cello Sonata, H 125 in D minor~I. Allegro ben moderato - [] - Tempo I - [] - A tempo poco animato - Largamente - Tempo I. Tranquillo - Con fuoco - Tranquillo e meno mosso
2. Cello Sonata, H 125 in D minor~II. Adagio ma non troppo - Andante con moto - Molto allegro e agitato - Adagio ma non troppo - Tempo I - Allegro moderato - Animato - Pi¿¿ animato - Largamente
3. There Is a Willow Grows aslant a Brook, H 173
4. Three Songs, H 76 for Medium Voice, Viola, and Piano~1. Far, Far From Each Other. Andante moderato
5. Three Songs, H 76 for Medium Voice, Viola, and Piano~2. Where Is It That Our Soul Doth Go?. Adagio ma non troppo
6. Three Songs, H 76 for Medium Voice, Viola, and Piano~3. Music, When Soft Voices Die. Andante moderato
7. Elegy for Solo Viola
8. Lachrymae: Reflections on a Song of Dowland, Op. 48 for Viola and Piano

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Helene Clement   Primary Artist,Viola
Sarah Connolly   Primary Artist,Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Alasdair Beatson   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Mervyn Cooke   Liner Notes
Jonathan Cooper   Editing,Engineer,Recording Producer
Stephanie Wollny   Liner Note Translation
Frank Bridge   Composer
Finn S. Gundersen   Booklet Editor
Marie-Francoise de Meeus   Liner Note Translation
Kaupo Kikkas   Photography
Sue Shortridge   A&R
Cass Cassidy   Design,Typesetting
George Garnier   Photography
Gerard Collett   Photography
Helene Clement   Arranger,Liner Notes
Iain Kilpatrick   Piano Technician
Christopher Pledger   Photography
Percy Bysshe Shelley   Poetry
Simon Astridge   Photography
Benjamin Britten   Arranger,Composer