GERALD FINZI Songs
Let us garlands bring
Gerald Finzi's is a unique voice amongst English "pastoral" composers, amongst whom I generally spend little listening time. He died young, having composed numerous songs but with the modest aim of sharing his enjoyment of favourite poems. Fastidious settings, they often stayed in his 'bottom drawer' for years before reaching the light. He believed that fine poems were complete in themselves, and his approach was 'only to gild the lily'. By coincidence two CDs of Finzi songs have been released very recently, and by good fortune they don't duplicate the same repertoire, although both include Hardy cycles. Roderick Williams has a characterful baritone, and his diction is impeccable - almost too much so for complete naturalism, I sometimes felt, unfairly. The moods are well varied. The Shakespeare songs are fairly popular, and Finzi's way with his piano parts (the excellent Ian Burnside) is unmistakably his own, recognisable in a few bars. To keep to Naxos's budget pricing, no texts are printed in the booklet. But for those who feel they need them (I nearly always do, and their lack often vitiates a positive recommendation!) Naxos has made them available to download easily from their website, something which has oft been urged in Musical Pointers and in Seen&Heard. http://www.naxos.com/libretti/finzi.htm Hopefully other companies will follow suit? See also the new Finzi songs recording from Linn by James Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook, which includes a different Hardy set.
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