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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
George Butterworth (1885-1916) was perhaps the most gifted of those young composers who lost their lives in the Great War. Though Butterworth's output was small (he was notoriously self-critical, destroying many early manuscripts before enlisting in 1914), it is of exceedingly high quality and works such as the ineffably poignant 1911 orchestral rhapsody A Shropshire Lad and "On the Idle Hill of Summer" from Bredon Hill are mini-masterpieces by any standard, driving home afresh what a grievous loss to British music Butterworth's premature demise was. On this useful mid-priced Decca compilation, Benjamin Luxon and David Willison bring a wealth of character and insight to the two Housman song-cycles (Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad and Bredon Hill), while Marriner and his beautifully poised band give supremely sensitive performances of the three entrancing orchestral offerings. Very good sound throughout and a positive recommendation, though no collector should miss hearing Adrian Boult's treasurable mono recordings of both A Shropshire Lad and The Banks of Green Willow on a bargain Belart reissue. --Andrew Achenbach
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A contemplative listen.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Butterworth - Banks of Green Willow, etc (Audio CD)
This wonderful collection of songs and orchestral pieces may have connotations of an idealistic English pastoral arcadia, but, ultimately, refuse this appropriation. The melancholy of A.E. Housman's poetry and the tragic end of Butterworth on the battle fields of the Somme make this reflective but worthwhile listening.The simplicity of piano and voice used in the "Shropshire Lad" songs contrast effectively with three of Butterworth's best known orchestral works at the end, which display his influence by the English folk tradition. The final work is almost inevitably, but rightly, "The Banks of Green Willow" with its enduringly beautiful clarinet introduction. A wise investment for admirers of this composer's brief musical career.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully English,
By
This review is from: Butterworth - Banks of Green Willow, etc (Audio CD)
Like so many ordinary people, George Butterworth was a national treasure lost to the First World War. I bought this CD purely for the orchestral peices, A Shropshire Lad, On the Banks of Green Willow and Two English Idylls.The peices hark back to a time when Britain was at peace with the world, and one can imagine strolling through English medaows on a beautiful summers day in a bygone era whilst listening to the glorious structure of the peices. Butterworth captures England perfectly. One can only wonder of what greatness this man would have acheived had he survived the horrors of the Somme.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An essential compilation that falls short,
By
This review is from: Butterworth - Banks of Green Willow, etc (Audio CD)
George Butterworth is my favourite English composer with Malcolm Arnold getting close behind. A complete Butterworth disc is very much needed, but there are problems with this one. To begin with the conductor pulls "A Shropshire Lad" out of shape, losing control of the structure a bit, and the recordings of the orchestral works were made in a church, so that there is some loss in woodwind colours, which is disastrous with Butterworth. Finally (though this isn't the fault of Decca now) Butterworth's short orchestral song cycle isn't included, so it is not completely complete. The record is not as bad as I might have put it (the church recording is not as colourless or harsh as they usually are) and until there is decent competition it is worth having for the music.
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