EM Records is delighted to announce the release of “La Belle Dame” World Première recordings of turn-of-the-century English Romanticism.
In the decades either side of the death of Queen Victoria, British composers were delighting their audiences whilst also searching for their voices in a world where Romanticism was opening out into the ever-greater harmonic and dramatic possibilities that the twentieth century would bring. This disc brings together some of the most vibrant works of those decades, incredibly all in World Première recordings, with Roderick Williams giving voice to a tradition of large-scale vocal scenes with orchestra that has, sadly, all but disappeared. Passionate and radiant and haunting works by Gustav Holst, Frederick Delius, and Cyril Scott are complemented by the urbane wit of Roger Quilter’s setting of “The Faithless Shepherdess” and the stormy turbluence of Havergal Brian’s “Legend”, performed in a new orchestration by Rupert Marshall-Luck. This is a recording that promises to enchant.
“La Belle Dame” (EMR CD085) is now available for purchase by following this link. For more details, including audio extracts, please visit this page.