First disc
1. Serenade to Music 14.05
Sopranos: Stiles Allen*, Isobel Baillie*, Ena Mitchell, Elsie Suddaby*
Contraltos: Muriel Brunskill*, Astra Desmond*, Mary Jarred*, Gladys Ripley
Tenors: William Herbert, Richard Lewis, Stephen Manton, Heddle Nash*
Baritone/Bass: Norman Allin*, Robert Easton*, Roy Henderson*, Harold Williams*
* indicates the soloists in the first performance under Sir Henry Wood in 1938
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Ralph Vaughan Williams
(Recorded live at the Royal Concert on 22 November 1951 in the Royal Festival Hall, London)
The Pilgrim’s Journey (arranged by Roy Douglas)
2. Cast thy burden upon the Lord (tenor and baritone) 11.23
3. Into thy hands, O Lord (baritone) 5.47
4. Who would true valour see (soprano and baritone) 4.09
5. Unto him that overcometh (women’s chorus) 3.00
6. Vanity Fair (tenor and baritone) 4.13
7. He that is down (soprano) 2.47
8. The Lord is my Shepherd (chorus) 3.16
9. Alleluia (soprano, tenor and baritone) 4.34
Louis Bové (soprano), Clifford Scott (tenor), John Peck (baritone), Arnold Ostlund Jr. (organ), Plymouth Choir, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn, New York City
Henry Pfohl
(Recorded live in the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims on Sunday April 4th 1965)
Total Time 53.56
Second Bonus Disc
1. The teachings of Parry and Stanford – a talk by RVW 28.05
(Edited from a broadcast on 17 November 1955)
2. Excerpt from the Funeral Service of Ralph Vaughan Williams
(Westminster Abbey, Friday September 19th 1958 at 11.30 am) 1.25
Albion Records is dedicated to recording rare 20th century English classical music, concentrating on Ralph Vaughan Williams. The label is a subsidiary of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society and each of the CDs contains world première recordings.
This release is a unique and rare recording of Vaughan Williams conducting his Serenade to Music from a performance in 1951 at the Royal Festival Hall with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The soloists, many of whom were in the first performance in 1938, include Isobel Baillie, Astra Desmond, Richard Lewis and Heddle Nash. The recording is a deeply expressive and romantic interpretation. The Serenade to Music was commissioned by Sir Henry Wood for his Jubilee Concert in 1938 to celebrate his 50 years as a conductor. It is one of the sweetest, most beautiful of all Vaughan William’s works.
Also on this recording is the Pilgrim’s Journey, arranged by Roy Douglas and a bonus disc features Vaughan Williams talking about the teachings of Parry and Stanford as well as a short extract from the funeral service of Vaughan Williams
This recording has been brilliantly re-mastered by Peter Reynolds.
