James Gilchrist - English Song Collection - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

2 CDs for the price of 1. Handel's last English oratorio and last major work, recorded with celebrated Baroque chorus Collegium Vocale Gent and the energetic Fabio Biondi at the helm.

U.S. vinyl LP pressing in gatefold sleeve. 2012 , the sixth album from the Alt-Rock outfit. Before, Nada Surf albums simply took on the character of the songs that the band came up with at the time. This one was different-there was a plan. 'We've always played faster and a little harder live,' Caws says, 'but we'd play so carefully in the studio. So with this album, we made a conscious decision to preserve what it felt like in the practice room, when you play with that new-song energy. Just embrace it and not worry whether we're overdoing it, kind of get all the thinking out of the way.' the album springs from the notion of music as an alternative reality, and songs as things you can keep by your side for inspiration and support. Which is what makes Nada Surf a truly beloved band.

Born in Sussex in 1877, Roger Quilter was a fellow-student of Percy Grainger, Cyril Scott, and H. Balfour Gardiner at the Hoch Conservatory, in Frankfurt, where he studied for almost five years under the guidance of the German professor of composition Iwan Knorr. He is best known for his contribution to English art song, having composed around 150 songs, many of which remain regular recital favourites. For this album, the tenor James Gilchrist and pianist Anna Tilbrook explore his output from early works such as 'Now sleeps the crimson petal' through to late examples such as 'The Ash Grove'. All of the songs are settings of English texts, with the exception of the Four Songs of Mirza Schaffy, which set German texts by Friedrich von Bodenstedt. The musicians have arranged their selection of twenty-seven songs into thematic groups - Shakespeare songs, songs about flowers, folksongs, songs of love etc. - which makes for a fascinating and rewarding programme.