A Shropshire Lad: English Songs Orchestrated by Roderick Williams

Featuring

Sir Mark Elder
Roderick Williams
Hallé Orchestra
John Ireland
Ina Boyle
William Denis Browne

George Butterworth
Ruth Gipps
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Madeleine Dring
James Burton
Rebecca Clarke
Ernest Bristow Farrar

Did you know?

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Album & Artwork

This album features new arrangements of songs by four women composers who had connections with Vaughan Williams, as well as songs by male composers killed in World War I.

Composer Biography

George Butterworth, a close friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams, badgered him to compose a purely orchestral symphony, resulting in 'A London Symphony', which was dedicated to Butterworth's memory after his death in the Battle of the Somme.

Interpretation

Roderick Williams, the baritone and orchestrator on this album, was invited by Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé to orchestrate these English songs.

Composer Biography

William Denis Browne, a pianist and music critic, was killed at Gallipoli during World War I, shortly after helping to bury his friend, the poet Rupert Brooke.

Composer Biography

Ruth Gipps, a multi-talented musician, launched her composing career when Henry Wood conducted her tone-poem 'Knight in Armour' at the Last Night of the Proms in 1942.

Composition History

The orchestrations by Roderick Williams for George Butterworth's 'A Shropshire Lad' were originally scheduled for a March 2020 premiere but were delayed by the pandemic lockdown.