Moeran: Solo Songs [CD]

Never Judge a book by its cover, or a record. If the photo of the motley crew on the slipcase of this 2CD set was anything to go by, we would be in for two hours of drinking songs, heynoneynoo, and ribald appreciations of the fairer sex. They are a few songs of this kind, but most are quite different. The first couple of songs set the scene well. Gentle, arcing melodies for piano and voice, effortlessly blending the influences of Ernest Moeran's two favourite places, the lowlands of Norfolk, and the uplands of County Kerry. On the strength of this recording Ernest Moeran emerges as one of the British Isles finest songwriters of the 20th century. There is a likeness to Vaughan Williams, and to Delius, but no-one else in British song captures the feeling of being out in the open air with such naturalness and ease.

Mind you, as these discs feature so many first recordings, it is hard to separate the songs from the performances, and what performances they are! In particular those by baritone Roderick Williams. He performs at his usual high standard, and sings his share, about two thirds, as if they had been written for him.

Moeran is closest to other song writers, especially Vaughan Williams, when he visits the places of their inspiration. The little song cycle Ludlow Town is in this category. Geraldine Mc Greevy's lovely performance of his Four Shakespeare Songs cannot hide the fact that they are simply good singing round the piano in the parlour settings. He finds his own well of inspiration when he adds some Irish accents , as I his settings of Seven Poems of James Joyce. I find that the songs that really stand out are some of the individual ones. No better place to begin than at the start of the first disc. Three gentle settings `Spring Goeth All In White`, `When June Is Come, and an Irish lullaby `Mantle of Blue', could not have been composed by anyone else.

There are occasional songs that live up, or down to, that motley cover shot. `Troll The Bowl`, and `Maltworms' suggest a life too long abandoned to drink to find a way back. Then by way of contrast the `Members of the Weybridge Male Voice Choir' sing `Can't you Dance The Polka' and 'Mrs Dyer, the Baby Farmer' in true 'Knees up Mother Brown' style. Complete with lusty fake cockney accents.

All in all this release is a pleasure, and an ear opener. The list of significant 20th Century songwriters of the British Isles is now one name longer. The performances are frequently a delight. There is a comprehensive booklet to complete the set, with background information and all the lyrics. I would rate this set as between four and five stars. After listening to it I'm in a generous mood, and considering that Chandos are offering it at a 2CD for 1CD price as a new release - five stars it is.

Moeran was a victim of the First World War - injured by shrapnel in the head - and his life was bounded by the bottle, certainly exacerbated by his sojourn with Peter Warlock et al at Eynsford, Kent during the 20's. But the majority of these songs are delicate English/Irish country airs of the very best kind which carry a poignant sadness which attracted other composers such as Butterworth, Gurney and Vaughan Williams. By the time of his death at the age of 55 in 1950 in Kenmare, Jack Moeran had produced a sizeable body of work including a stunning symphony that deserves more concert hall outings.
The drinking songs - there are just a few of them on these 2 CDs - are fun but should eventually be skipped over. The wonder lies in the other songs and you might catch a faint echo of Warlock's "The Curlew."

Over the past couple of years, record companies have made a real effort to record the previously unrecorded works of E.J. Moeran (1894-1950), and so bring to fruition a complete recorded catalogue of virtually his entire output. Recently we have had Martin Yates' "realisation" of the elusive Second Symphony along with an Overture for a Festival. Last Year BMS released a CD of the complete folksong arrangements, and here we have the complete solo songs, including the important Seven Poems by James Joyce, and Six Poems of Seumus O'Sullivan. With such an abundance of treasures on offer (there are 56 separate songs spread over two CDs) it is difficult to know where to begin. Perhaps I should restrict this review to the songs which other reviewers have not much commented on. Hopefully, taken together, the published reviews should then present a good overall assessment.

The seven Joyce settings are all taken from the writer's early collection, "Chamber Music" (1907). The poems are musical in themselves, and cry out to be set as songs. Moeran's settings are in complete rapport with the poet's mood, and bear witness to his affinity with the Irish landscape and people. The mood oscillates between the gently lilting "Strings in the earth and air" to the buoyant "Merry Green Wood" and "Bright Cap". "The Pleasant Valley" is graced with a lovely, languid melody, while the wistful "Now, O now in this brown land", which concludes the cycle, has affinities with the Violin Concerto, a work which is said to evoke the season of autumn on the south-west coast of Ireland. Moeran uses the piano to underscore the unity of the cycle. For instance, the introductory figure in the first song reappears in the sixth.

Written between 1943-46, the Six Poems of Seumas O'Sullivan probably represents Moeran's finest achievement in solo song composition. The title, however ("Poems", not "Songs" - in common with the Joyce), perhaps testifies to his magnanimous approach. His settings were not designed primarily to showcase his own compositional technique, but rather the texts themselves. There is a sublime, unhurried quality about the opening song, "Evening". The second one, "The Poplars", is a song of shadows, while "A Cottager" has a wonderfully haunting refrain ("But who has count of the years between?"). "The Dustman" has a magical, childlike quality, a mood which extends also into "Lullaby". The final song, "The Herdsman", is a twilight piece with suitably subdued music, overshadowed, perhaps, by the ghost of Warlock's "The Frostbound Wood" or "The Fox".

Finally, a brief comment on a couple of what have been recognised to be Moeran's best individual songs: "Rahoon" and "Diaphenia". The first, again to a text by Joyce, is wonderfully atmospheric, with dark colours and slow, ruminative tempo perfectly evoking the mood of the poem (about a dead lover) with its repetitive vocabulary ("dark", "rain", "moonrise"/"moongrey", "love"). "Diaphenia", on the other hand, is an Elizabethan text (authorship uncertain) on the ecstasy of love for which Moeran provides a suitably radiant setting. It was the first Moeran song to be recorded (by the incomparable Heddle Nash), and is ably sung on this disc by the tenor Adrian Thompson.

There are plenty of other gems here - settings by poets as diverse as Shakespeare and a wide range of other Elizabethans, Housman, Bridges, and Masefield - and, of course, the inevitable ballad and drinking song. This recording is a real treasure trove for lovers of English song. It is recorded and packaged to Chandos' usual high standard, and the liner notes are informative, with most of the texts included (but have a copy of Joyce on hand).