Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Although its products are subsidized releases of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, the Albion label has found some commercial success with its releases of largely obscure, but worthwhile works by RVW. Fair Child of Beauty, in fact, made the British charts in 2016, and it's well worth checking out. Its success came in spite of the fact that it's hard to determine from the graphics exactly what you're getting; the two works programmed are related, but not identical, and neither one is called Fair Child of Beauty. The two pieces are both settings of Edmund Spenser's Epithalamion (1594), a long poem celebrating his own marriage. The choral work by that title, including more of Spenser's text, has become better known. This is likely because the chamber version, The Bridal Day, failed at its first performance. It was done as a masque, with dances that failed to impress the premiere audience at 1939. Vaughan Williams responded with the choral setting, in the nature of a little secular oratorio. It's enjoyable, but the original version, for speaker, baritone soloist, chorus, and instrumental septet, is superior. It exudes the passionate atmosphere of the romance brewing between the composer and the poet Ursula Wood, who adapted the text and who later became Vaughan Williams' second wife. The configuration of forces here is unique, and it's hard to think of another work with a similar effect. It might be worth trying to reconstruct the original masque (not a popular genre these days), but in the meantime the seductive performance here, with forces led by conductor Alan Tongue, is enough to suggest a lost Vaughan Williams masterpiece. Highly recommended.
© TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr133,33/month
The Bridal Day (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
John Hopkins, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
John Hopkins, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Philip Smith, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
John Hopkins, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
John Hopkins, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Philip Smith, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
John Hopkins, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Philip Smith, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
John Hopkins, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ursula Wood, Lyricist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
DISC 2
Epithalamion (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Philip Smith, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Philip Smith, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Philip Smith, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer - Joyful Company of Singers, Choir, MainArtist - Philip Smith, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Edmund Spenser, Lyricist - Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra, MainArtist - Alan Tongue, Conductor, MainArtist
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Album review
Although its products are subsidized releases of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, the Albion label has found some commercial success with its releases of largely obscure, but worthwhile works by RVW. Fair Child of Beauty, in fact, made the British charts in 2016, and it's well worth checking out. Its success came in spite of the fact that it's hard to determine from the graphics exactly what you're getting; the two works programmed are related, but not identical, and neither one is called Fair Child of Beauty. The two pieces are both settings of Edmund Spenser's Epithalamion (1594), a long poem celebrating his own marriage. The choral work by that title, including more of Spenser's text, has become better known. This is likely because the chamber version, The Bridal Day, failed at its first performance. It was done as a masque, with dances that failed to impress the premiere audience at 1939. Vaughan Williams responded with the choral setting, in the nature of a little secular oratorio. It's enjoyable, but the original version, for speaker, baritone soloist, chorus, and instrumental septet, is superior. It exudes the passionate atmosphere of the romance brewing between the composer and the poet Ursula Wood, who adapted the text and who later became Vaughan Williams' second wife. The configuration of forces here is unique, and it's hard to think of another work with a similar effect. It might be worth trying to reconstruct the original masque (not a popular genre these days), but in the meantime the seductive performance here, with forces led by conductor Alan Tongue, is enough to suggest a lost Vaughan Williams masterpiece. Highly recommended.
© TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 01:25:07
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: John Hopkins Philip Smith Joyful Company of Singers Britten Sinfonia Alan Tongue
- Composer: Ralph Vaughan Williams
- Label: Albion
- Genre: Classical Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) Choral Music (Choirs)
2016 Albion 2016 (P) Albion
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.
