Folk Songs of the British Isles
rec. 2022, The Menuhin Hall, Stoke d’Abernon and Acapela Studios, Cardiff, UK
Sung texts with translations enclosed
Reviewed as download from press preview
SOMM Recordings SOMMCD0668 [80]
The manifesto for this collection is distinctly declared in the opening paragraph of the liner notes: ‘This selection of folksongs has been conceived as a circular tour of the British Isles, beginning in Ireland, moving across to Scotland, progressing down through Northumbria into East Anglia, and crossing England into Wales. From there we come back into the heart of England and Shakespeare country, former home of Simon Rattle’s Principal Viola with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Gwyn Williams, in whose memory a Bursary to assist young string players has been founded, and to which proceeds from this disc will be donated’ and ‘All the performers on this disc were friends of Gwyn Williams, and have given their services free in aid of the Bursary in his name.
Tracks 1, 3 and 6 with Caroline McCausland were recorded at The Old Smithy Studios, Worcs, and
taken from her LP, Songs for Gaia, released on Happy Face Music, MMLP 1022, ℗ 1984.’
Although I’m not British, I’ve spent quite some time in the British isles through the years and also learnt a little about folk music. This 80-minute-long traversal of songs from the various parts of the isles implied an attractive mix of good old friends and new acquaintances. Actually, the latter category was the largest. The provision of detailed comments on each song and the sung texts in the booklet – with translations of the tongues unfamiliar to a Scandinavian – was a welcome aid. The participating artists are also a mix of various ages, styles and accomplishment with a common denominator: a high level of professionalism. Here are some comments and my personal reactions:
I was immediately enamoured of the lovely Caroline McCausland, who opens the programme with She Moves Through the Fair, sung a cappella: beautiful voice and a touching reading. She sings two more songs, accompanying herself on guitar and it is a relief to hear the oft-heard The Last Rose of Summer so sensitively sung with utter simplicity. Caroline is today retired and – as is stated above – is represented by three excerpts from an LP, made in the 1980s. The Kelly sisters’ three songs are also real treats: the flute and harp, two of the oldest instruments in existence, blend so magically. Nicky Spence is today one of the most sought-after tenors, both in opera and as recitalist, and his art is displayed at its best in his three songs (tr. 7-9). The first two with Benjamin Britten’s accompaniments. The third is Robert Burns’ classic My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose. This text is of special importance to me – and to many Swedes of my generation – since our National Troubadour in times gone bye, Evert Taube, translated it quite freely and set it to his own melody. More than a half-centuryago, it was saidthat everyone in Sweden knew this song by heart, except two: King Gustavus V and Taube himself. For all Nicky Spence’s artistry, I cannot help but feel that his reading is a mite too operatic – but that is just a personal opinion.
Janis Kelly choses to sing Skye Boat Song a cappella, and she does it very well. The following two songs with accompaniment might again be too operatic for my taste but others may well feel differently. Kevin Whately is best known as a successful actor, and even I remember him in the role of Lewis in the TV series Inspector Morse. But he was, and certainly still is, a great singer of ballads and folk songs, and the two items here are great fun in a somewhat burlesque manner. In Blaydon Races, it appears that he is joined by other male voices in the refrains, but it turns out that he sings those other parts as well. Yvonne Howard sings Blow the Wind Southerly a cappella in the manner of Kathleen Ferrier. Sweet Polly Oliver and Oliver Cromwell are sung with Britten’s famous accompaniments, and the latter is certainly a real tongue-twister.
English Folk Song is not really a folk song. The text was written by comic Spike Milligan and set by his friend Duncan Lamont, saxophonist and band-leader. It is here sung sensitively by jazz-icon Elaine Delmar. I must say that both Mark Llewelyn Evans and Wynne Evans are beginning to sound their age vocally but great entertainer as they are, they cover up any deficiencies with involvement and expressivity. Mark catches his audience in the funny Can yr Arad Goch – even though I don’t understand a word (but there is translation!) – and sings the sorrowful Myfanwy with great feeling, Wynne counters with a sensitive reading of the well-known The Foggy, Foggy Dew, and is truly touching in Bugail Aberdyfi, a melody previously unknown to me. Mark returns with My Little Welsh Home, another new acquaintance, beautifully sung with great warmth. They then get together in a lively and funny Sospan Fach. High spirits indeed! Mezzo-soprano Maria Jagusz, a former Carmen, then rounds off the traversal with three numbers. First, Ben Jonson’s familiar Drink to Me Only, an a cappella version of The Oak and the Ash and, as a conclusion, Song for Gwyn, which isn’t a folk song at all, but a newly written homage to Gwyn Williams by his friend Christopher Morley, executive producer to this disc, together with Gwyn’s widow Stephanie. The music is also new, composed by pianist John Wilson, but in a pastoral fashion that fits in admirably with the rest of the programme.
This is an agreeable mix of well-known and – for this reviewer at least – lesser-known gems from the treasure chest of British folk songs, selling for charitable purposes.
Göran Forsling
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Contents
[1] She Moved Through the Fair 2:40
[2] The Lark in the Clear Air 2:34
[3] By the Short Cut to the Rosses 1:49
[4] Sí Bheag Sí Mor 2:19
[5] Give Me Your Hand 2:53
[6] The Last Rose of Summer 3:27
[7] Down by the Salley Gardens 2:40
[8] Can Ye Sew Cushions 2:12
[9] My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose 3:57
[10] Skye Boat Song 3:37
[11] Ye Banks and Braes 2:27
[12] The Rowan Tree 4:00
[13] Dance te Thi Daddy 2:38
[14] Blaydon Races 4:07
[15] Blow the Wind Southerly 3:43
[16] Sweet Polly Oliver 2:30
[17] Oliver Cromwell 0:50
[18] English Folk Song 2:57
[19] Can yr Arad Goch ✝ 2:02
[20] Myfanwy ✝ 2:43
[21] The Foggy, Foggy Dew ✝ 2:14
[22] Bugail Aberdyfi ✝ 4:36
[23] My Little Welsh Home ✝ 2:31
[24] Sospan Fach 2:13
[25] Drink to Me Only 3:25
[26] The Oak and the Ash 1:59
[27] Song for Gwyn* 6:45
* First recording
Performers
Janis Kelly (soprano) (10-12); Yvonne Howard (mezzo-soprano) (15-17); Maria Jagusz (mezzo-soprano) (25-27); Elaine Delmar (jazz singer) (18); Wynne Evans (tenor) (21, 22, 24); Nicky Spence (tenor) (7-9); Mark Llewelyn Evans (baritone) (19, 20 23,24); Kevin Whately (baritone) (13, 14); Fiona Kelly (flute) (2, 4, 5); Jean Kelly (harp) (2, 4, 5); Caroline McCausland (voice/guitar) (1, 3, 6); Michael Pollock (piano) (19-24); John Wilson (piano) (7-9, 11-17, 25, 27)
