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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning revival of an important score,
By Albion (Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Henry Walford Davies - Everyman (Audio CD)
This release is something very special indeed. Anyone who cares even remotely about British music should add this to their collection: at last we have an opportunity to hear Henry Walford Davies's 1904 cantata 'Everyman'. Davies was very highly regarded as a choral composer before the First World War and secured commissions from the Leeds, Birmingham and Three Choirs festivals. 'Everyman' created a sensation at the 1904 Leeds Festival and won accolades from fellow composers including Stanford and Vaughan Williams. Now we can see that such enthusiasm was entirely justified, and that the subsequent neglect of this cantata was not. Davies has a very distinctive musical style, with elusive harmonic movement and unexpected melodic structures (for example the unorthodox fugue subject from the Epilogue). The choral writing in particular is superb, its glory brought out confidently and with great precision by the London Oriana Choir on this new recording. All the participants have clearly benefitted from the experience of performing the work live, and the professionalism of the orchestra is a real highlight. The cantata moves swiftly through the story of the medieval morality play 'Everyman', but such is the care with which Davies structured his setting that nothing is rushed and every detail tells. Particularly beautiful is the section where Everyman appeals to his Good-Deeds to follow him on the journey to the grave; indeed much of the writing is very moving and the conclusion is thrilling. Clearly a great deal of care has gone into this recording: track indexing is unusually generous and we are also offered two fascinating revisions which Davies made to the canata in 1934 (one involving a shorter Epilogue). All four soloists sing their demanding music splendidly with a real sense of characterisation such as this piece demands. All told, this is one of the most important recordings of British music made in recent years: buy this disc and encourage Dutton and other record companies to continue exploring!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rediscovered gem,
By
This review is from: Henry Walford Davies - Everyman (Audio CD)
How has this music remained unrecorded? This is a gem of a recording and in its way as moving a work as Elgar's Gerontius. The music is tuneful, well-constructed and very well-recorded. All 4 soloists sing well and their voices blend well together. The choral singing is equally impressive. The story of Everyman, from a morality play which I remember reading in A level English at school, is at once serious and uplifting and the excellent setting to music by Walford-Davies serves only to bring out the meaning of the play. The role of Everyman, brought to life by the excellent Paul Putnins, is at the heart of a lovely and ultimately very optimistic piece of music. I hope that this will lead to more of the music of Walford-Davies being recorded. Thanks to Duttonlabs for rediscovering a lost classic!
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