Severn Meadows: Songs by Ivor Gurney

Editorial Reviews
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The very title of this disc will, I suspect, be something of a touchstone. If at the words 'Severn Meadows', if at a mention of the Malvern or Cotswold hills, of Ha'nacker Mill or the West Country, or at the very thought of hazy June fields, your eyes mist up or you feel a lump in the throat, then this record is for you. On it, the tenor Paul Agnew sings, exquisitely, 25 exquisite songs by Ivor Gurney, including many of the familiar ones. By a Bierside, In Flanders and Most Holy Night are all here, as is Severn Meadows itself and the five so-called 'Elizas', settings of Elizabethan poetry made before Gurney went off to the war that had such a devastating impact on him. Gurney is often slow, elegiac and subdued, with climaxes a rarity: the great outburst at the end of his Masefield setting By a Bierside is all the more overwhelming when it arrives. He sets a surprising variety of poets though; not just the Georgians such as Squire and Belloc and Walter de la Mare, but Shakespeare, Walter Raleigh, Fletcher and Nashe.So the challenge to the singer is considerable. Paul Agnew's tenor is agreeable, very English, quite forward in the mouth so his diction is impeccable, and the songs seem to lie nicely for his voice. Gurney's long lines do not appear to tax him at all, and one has the feeling of a natural sympathy, rather than embarrassment, with the particular emotions and flavour of the verses. Within their limitations, some of the songs are well-nigh perfect: Most Holy Night, for instance, or Sleep, and Agnew sings them most sensitively. The balance allows him to explore a note of inwardness and serenity which is almost made easier by the recording medium, particularly appropriate to Gurney's emphasis on loss and the transience of things. There are full texts and an interesting note (both in English only) by Michael Hurd, suggesting that neither shell shock nor gassing were responsible for Gurney's long descent into madness, but syphilis. The songs themselves, though, are without exception minor miracles of controlled pathos and these performances do them more than justice. Piers Burton-Page

Tracks:

Requiem da Camera: Only A Man Harrowing Clods
In Flanders
Ha'nacker Mill
Black Stitchel
By A Brierside
Blaweary
The Twa Corbies
The Fiddler Of Dooney
Goodnight To The Meadow
Severn Meadows
Vagabond Songs, Op. 10: The Wanderer's Song Op. 10 No. 1
Vagabond Songs, Op. 10: Silent Noon
Vagabond Songs, Op. 10: The Roadside Fire Op. 10 No. 3
Hawk And Buckle
The Ship 'The Elizas'
Orpheus
Tears
Under The Greenwood Tree
Sleep
Spring

Tracks:

Arabia
The Boat Is Chafing
Cathleen Ni Houlihan
Edward, Edward
The Night Of Trafalgar
Even Such Is Time
Thou Didst Delight My Eyes
Most Holy Night
Diaphenia
Brittany Op. 21 No. 1 - Two Pasorals
Come You, Mary Op. 21 No. 2
Who Would Shepherd Pipes Op. 21 No. 3
Shall I Compare Thee?
You Are My Sky
Last Hours
To Violets
Nine Of The Clock
Epitaph In Old Mode
Epitaph On Salathiel Pavy
Requiescat
To Gratiana Dancing And Singing

Customer Reviews:

A classic recording.......2005-07-07

War's Embers draws its title from composer-poet Ivor Gurney's second volume of poetry written at the Front. Conceived by Joy Finzi, the widow of composer Gerald Finzi, it features songs by composers who fought in World War I with the exception of Finzi whose teacher Ernest Farrar died two months before the war ended. The 2-CD collection features Farrar, Gurney, George Butterworth, Denis Browne and Frederick Kelly, the latter two being friends of the poet Rupert Brooke. Brooke died on the way to Gallipoli where Browne was killed in June 1915. This important recording brings together a fine collection of songs, including four by Denis Browne whose reputation stands on this handful of songs. (There are others that might some day be recorded). For many years it was assumed that Ivor Gurney, who spent the last 15 years of his life in an asylum, was a shell-shocked victim of the war. This is not true. Gurney suffered from a severe manic-depressive disorder that had first shown symptoms when he was in his teens. He actually flourished during the war, writing four songs that are considered masterpieces (listen to In Flanders, By A Bierside, Severn Meadows and Even such is Time), producing enough poetry for two volumes of poetry and writing hundreds of letters to his friends, primarily to musicologist-critic Marion Scott. George Butterworth, who was killed in the Battle of the Somme, was a good friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Finzi is represented by Only A Man Harrowing Clods (a setting of Thomas Hardy) from his Requiem da Camera, which he wrote in memory of Farrar. The performances by Martyn Hill, tenor, Stephen Varcoe, baritone, and Michael George are excellent and heartfelt. Hill was one of the first singers to record Gurney's songs. War's Embers is a must-buy CD for anyone interested in 20th English song.

great music - bad singer.......2002-06-20

What a SHAME!!! This is one of the only recordings that I know of featuring the 4 songs of William Denis Browne... played very well by Stephen Varcoe - but sung terribly by Martin Hill. Much like the collection of Michael Tippett vocal music, Mr. Hill seems to scream his way through most everything he sings.
Someone must like him, he's signed to Hyperion, and they usually choose such wonderful singers... but not this time. Let's just pray that Ian Bostridge or John Mark Ainsley will be asked to sing this wonderful repertoire... and we can use these discs as coasters!
The baritone, Michael George, does a commentable job with the Gurney songs - sometimes a bit swallowed and throaty.

Tracks:

Six Songs From A Shropshire Lad: 1. Loveliest Of Trees
Six Songs From A Shropshire Lad: 2. When I Was One-And-Twenty
Six Songs From A Shropshire Lad: 3. Look Not In My Eyes
Six Songs From A Shropshire Lad: 4. Think No More, Lad
Six Songs From A Shropshire Lad: 5. The Lads In Their Hundreds
Six Songs From A Shropshire Lad: 6. Is My Team Ploughing?
Bredon Hill And Other Songs: 1. Bredon Hill
Bredon Hill And Other Songs: 2. O Fair Enough Are Sky And Plain
Bredon Hill And Other Songs: 3. When The Lad For Longing Sighs
Bredon Hill And Other Songs: 4. On The Idle Hill Of Summer
Bredon Hill And Other Songs: 5. With Rue My Heart Is Laden
Carol Of The Skiddaw Yowes
The Apple Orchard
The Fields Are Full
The Twa Corbies
Severn Meadows
Desire In Spring
Ha'nacker Mill
Down By The Salley Gardens
The Scribe
Hawk And Buckle
On The Downs
The Fiddler Of Dooney
In Flanders
The Folly Of Being Comforted
I Praise The Tendor Flower
Black Stitchel
An Epitaph
By A Bierside
Cranham Woods
Sleep

Average customer rating:

Let some pleasing dreams beguile all my fancies...
Disappointing

Severn Meadows: Songs by Ivor Gurney

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00005MGAF
Release Date: 2001-08-14

Customer Reviews:

Let some pleasing dreams beguile all my fancies..........2006-07-31

I'm sorry the reviewer below felt it necessary to concentrate on the programme notes of this recording rather than the recording. Leaving aside any question of how or what caused the miserable end of Gurney's life, it is an inestimable pleasure to know that he left to the world a quanitity of songs which are gem-like in their miniature of human emotion, memory and almost calm imagery. They are indeed very English songs, but English artsong has nothing of which to be ashamed.

The songs on this album include the perfect "Sleep" as well as many other, more unfamiliar, Gurney songs. Listening to the very, very beautiful tenor voice of Paul Agnew sing these songs with delicacy and sincerity is a wonder. (I cannot fathom why the reviewer below found anything at which to cavil in the superb singing of these songs!) Agnew's voice is somewhat difficult to describe - it is of a pure sweetness that is yet very masculine, like the smooth trunk of a birch. It has an almost woody quality to it, that nearly reed-like purity of an oboe, perhaps, yet with the sonorousness of a cello in its upper register. It is an instantly recognisable timbre, a haut-contre voice that is not only immensely attractive but controlled in such a masterful and intelligent way.

Paul Agnew's approach to these songs is well-nigh perfect. I have played this particular CD several times, sighing with pleasure each time at the tone, the feeling and the beautiful phrasing.

Recommended without hesitation.

Disappointing.......2002-04-14

Unfortunately Severn Meadows ý Songs by Ivor Gurney is a disappointing recording, particularly since it is the first CD devoted entirely to Gurney's music. Gurney was a master of the song setting but this release does not do his splendid contributions to song literature justice. It is too similar in tone throughout and lacks the sparkle, color and intensity that other interpreters draw from Gurney's music. More disappointing and disturbing than the recording, however, are Michael Hurd's program notes in which he feels it necessary to repeat the irresponsible suggestion the Gurney suffered from syphilis. This information was presented to the public in 2000 without being carefully researched or documented and has, unfortunately, found its way into print too often as an explanation of Gurney's mental illness. Gurney did not suffer from syphilis or shell shock or paranoid schizophrenia. He suffered, as did Robert Schumann, from severe untreated manic-depressive illness. ...

Track Listings:

Track Listings

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