This page lists all recordings of On Wenlock Edge, by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) on CD. Generally, more recent CDs are listed first, but with priority given to items that are in stock. Cycle of 6 songs for tenor with accompaniment of piano and string quartet. Words by Houseman from A Shropshire Lad. Orchestral version exists and also version for tenor and orchestra. |
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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Vaughan Williams - On Wenlock Edge
Mark Padmore (tenor) Schubert Ensemble On Wenlock Edge is a song cycle for tenor, piano and string quartet, published in 1909, setting six poems from
A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad. Although there have been a number of recordings of this song cycle recently,
this disc features the remarkable voice of Mark Padmore and uniquely adds the early Piano Quintet in C minor,
recently released for performance by the composer’s widow and published in 2002, and also the Romance and
Pastorale, two similarly early, brief lyric pieces for violin and piano published in 1923. The Quintet was written for
piano, violin, viola, cello and double-bass – as was Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet. It is a wonderful early work, full of
passion and melodic invention.
This recording marks the Schubert Ensemble’s debut on Chandos and also its 25th anniversary. The Ensemble has
always been at the forefront of British chamber music performance and is now firmly established as one of the
world’s leading exponents of music for piano and strings. “Fifty years after his death, Vaughan Williams is accorded the affectionate respect he deserves in this version of his poignant rural song cycle by one of our finest dramatic tenors, Mark Padmore. AE Housman's words have rarely rung so clearly above the haunting accompaniment of piano and quartet, notably in the central song 'Is my team still ploughing?'” The Observer, 4th May 2008 “It is hard not to see Vaughan Williams's On Wenlock Edge as the first great English song cycle, especially when its heart and soul come to the fore in performances such as this one. AE Housman's combination of folk-like innocence and knowing irony is powerfully conveyed in the singing of Mark Padmore.” The Telegraph, 19th April 2008 “Padmore is something special in Wenlock, while the Quintet is striking. ” Gramophone Magazine, June 2008 “There's more to Padmore's performance: fine tone, a strong sense of pitch, crystal clear enunciation and a wonderful feeling for long lines.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 *****  BBC Music Magazine
Choral & Song Choice - May 2008 |
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Andrew Kennedy (tenor) The Dante Quartet, Simon Crawford Philips "Andrew Kennedy's magnificent tenor soared through his high B-flats with luminous ease." The Times “…Kennedy… proves himself a rising start with performances keenly sung if occasionally rather mannered, supported by Simon Crawford Philips and the Dante players.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2008 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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James Gilchrist (tenor), Anna Tilbrook (piano), Michael Cox (flute), Gareth Hulse (cor anglais) Fitzwilliam String Quartet “Gilchrist's bright, ringing tenor voice is compelling from the first note, but it's the range of expression and unaffected musicality that leave the lasting impression” BBC Music Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Philip Langridge, Dame Felicity Lott, Della Jones, Christopher Maltman, et al. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | The English Song Series Volume 3 - Vaughan Williams 1
Anthony Rolfe Johnson (tenor), Simon Keenlyside (baritone), Graham Johnson (piano) Duke Quartet | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Robert Tear (tenor) & Thomas Allen (baritone) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle & Vernon Handley | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Vaughan Williams: Songs
John Mark Ainsley (tenor) The Nash Ensemble | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Vaughan WilliamsAnniversary Collectors Edition
Vaughan Williams: | On Wenlock Edge George Maran, Ivor Newton (piano) London String Quartet Old King Cole London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult A Song of Thanksgiving Betty Dolemore (soprano), Robert Speaight (narrator), Harry Gabb (organ) Luton Choral Society, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult Serenade to Music BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Henry Wood |
“Massachusetts-born George Maran's 1955 Decca recording of On Wenlock Edge… an uncommonly sensitive and intimate rendering… there's no disputing the intoxicating spell cast by dedicatee Sir Henry Wood's October 1938 Columbia recording of the sublime Serenade to Music.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2008 “The sole CD premiere is the 1955 On Wenlock Edge by George Maran, a German-based American tenor - pleasant-toned enough but distinctly previous in enunciation, no match for Pears/Britten, or more recent versions.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 *** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 weeks. |
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| |  | Three song cycles to poems by A E Housman
Adrian Thompson (tenor), Stephen Varcoe (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano) The Delmé Quartet | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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