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This disc contains works for voice and piano by Sir Arnold Bax, who was both Master of the King’s Music (under King George VI) and Master of the Queen’s Music (under Queen Elizabeth II). Throughout his life, Bax wrote around 125 songs, of which at least twenty are no longer extant but are mentioned in early lists of his music. This disc contains the World Première recording of the composer’s setting of “On the Bridge” by Thomas Hardy.
Also of special interest is the World Première recording of Bax’s twenty-five-minute setting of Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s celebrated poem “The Blessed Damozel”. Described by Bax as “a musical illustration”, with a recitation of the poem set to piano accompaniment, this work gives us a remarkable flavour of how may Bax have improvised in the company of his friends and contemporaries.
| Arnold Bax (1883–1953) | |||
| 1. | “THE BLESSED DAMOZEL” (World Première recording) |
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| 2. | “A MILKING SIAN” |
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| 3. | “THE WHITE PEACE” |
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| 4. | “SHIELING SONG” |
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| 5. | “TO EIRE” |
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| 6. | “ROUNDEL” |
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| 7. | “PARTING” |
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| 8. | “FAR IN A WESTERN BROOKLAND” |
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| 9. | “FOLK-TALE” FOR CELLO AND PIANO |
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| 10. | “JACK AND JONE” |
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| 11. | “WHEN I WAS ONE-AND-TWENTY” |
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| 12. | “THE MARKET GIRL” |
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| 13. | “RANN OF EXILE” |
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| 14. | “RANN OF WANDERING” |
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| 15. | “I HEARD A SOLDIER” |
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| 16. | “IN THE MORNING” |
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| 17. | “ON THE BRIDGE” |
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| 18. | “WATCHING THE NEEDLEBOATS” |
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EMR CD028 | INTERNATIONAL
RECORD REVIEW