Joyce’s Favourite Songs

£13.25

Martyn Hill tenor; Meriel Dickinson mezzo; Peter Dickinson piano

HTGCD 175 – 5060332662289

1 CD

An enterprising release featuring James Joyce’s poems including G. Molyneux Palmer’s setting of ‘Chamber Music’, performed by Martyn Hill and a performance by Meriel Dickinson of a selection of 13 songs by more familiar composers: Moeran, Bax, Roussel, Herbert Hughes, Ireland, Sessions, Bliss, Howells, Antheil, Edgardo Carducci, Goossens, C. W. Orr, Van Dieren. Both recordings were made for the BBC in 1988 and 1982 respectively and appear here on CD for the very first time.

Of particular interest is the cycle by Palmer, a kind of Irish Winterreise that adds significantly to the history of Georgian song. Palmer was a pupil of Stanford who spent the last thirty years of his life in Dublin, latterly as an invalid, where his music, including operas and choral pieces, gained some performances. Letters between Joyce and Palmer show how enthusiastic Joyce was about these songs.

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CHAMBER MUSIC: 32 SONGS by G. Molyneux Palmer

13 SONGS by Moeran, Bax, Roussel, Herbert Hughes, Ireland, Sessions, Bliss, Howells, Antheil, Edgardo Carducci, Goossens, C. W. Orr, Van Dieren

Reviews

  1. admin

    ‘This CD deserves much success with listeners who enjoy English (language) songs. Both works are rarities by any stretch of the imagination. The contrast is considerable; the stylistic cohesion and subtlety of Geoffrey Molyneux Palmer’s Chamber Music and the eclectic nature of The Joyce Book are impeccably balanced on this disc.’
    John France, MusicWeb International

  2. admin

    ‘Martyn Hill was among the leading lyric tenors of his generation, with Meriel Dickinson seldom equalled for her conveying of the emotional sense behind the text……Peter Dickinson is an insightful accompanist and provides the detailed commentaries, while the sound has come up well in remastering…..Required listening, not only for admirers of Joyce or the English song tradition.’ Richard Whitehouse, Arcana Online

  3. admin

    ‘Martyn Hill, tenor, and his accompanist Peter Dickinson give a remarkable performance of this music……….The songs are beautifully sung by Meriel Dickinson and splendidly accompanied by Peter Dickinson…..The CD is well presented, with excellent liner notes……The 1980s recording of both ‘song cycles’ is outstanding………This CD deserves much success with listeners who enjoy English (language) songs.’ John France, Musicweb International

  4. admin

    ‘Both sets were finely recorded for the BBC; Chamber Music in 1986 and The Joyce Book in 1981 and this is their first CD appearance. The texts are printed in full and Peter Dickinson’s booklet note is excellent.’ Jonathan Woolf, British Music Society

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