Façades James Geer, Andrew West & Ronald Woodley

• Constant Lambert (1905 - 1951): 3 Pièces nègres pour les touches blanches:
• 1 3 Pièces nègres pour les touches blanches: No. 1, Aubade 02:33
• 2 3 Pièces nègres pour les touches blanches: No. 2, Siesta 03:06
• 3 3 Pièces nègres pour les touches blanches: No. 3, Nocturne 03:05
• Sir William Walton (1902 - 1983): 4 Songs:
• 4 4 Songs: No. 4, The Winds 01:42
• 3 Songs to Poems by Edith Sitwell:
• 5 3 Songs to Poems by Edith Sitwell: No. 1, Daphne 02:53
• Sir William Walton:
• 6 Tritons 01:54
• Constant Lambert: 8 Poems of Li-Po:
• 7 8 Poems of Li-Po: No. 1, A Summer Day 01:54
• 8 8 Poems of Li-Po: No. 2, Nocturne 01:54
• 9 8 Poems of Li-Po: No. 3, With a Man of Leisure 01:10
• 10 8 Poems of Li-Po: No. 4, Lines 03:00
• Sir William Walton:
• 11 Siesta (Version for Piano 4 Hands) 04:41
• 12 Under the Greenwood Tree (From "As You Like It") 01:49
• 13 Beatriz's Song (From "Christopher Columbus") [Arr. C. Palmer for Voice & Piano] 02:47
• Constant Lambert: 8 Poems of Li-Po:
• 14 8 Poems of Li-Po: No. 5, The Ruin of the Ku-Su Palace 01:19
• 15 8 Poems of Li-Po: No. 6, The Intruder 01:14
• 16 8 Poems of Li-Po: No. 7, On the City Street 01:49
• 17 8 Poems of Li-Po: No. 8, The Long-Departed Lover 03:26
• Sir William Walton: Façade Suite No. 1 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands):
• 18 Façade Suite No. 1 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): I. Polka 01:24
• 19 Façade Suite No. 1 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): II. Valse 03:27
• 20 Façade Suite No. 1 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): III. Swiss Jodelling Song 02:23
• 21 Façade Suite No. 1 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): IV. Tango - Pasodoblé 02:00
• 22 Façade Suite No. 1 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): V. Tarantella Sevillana 02:43
• 23 Façade Suite No. 2 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): I. Fanfare 00:39
• 24 Façade Suite No. 2 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): II. Scotch Rhapsody 01:20
• 25 Façade Suite No. 2 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): III. Country Dance 02:14
• 26 Façade Suite No. 2 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): IV. Noche Espagnola (Long Steel Glass) 02:50
• 27 Façade Suite No. 2 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): V. Popular Song 02:19
• 28 Façade Suite No. 2 (Arr. C. Lambert for Piano 4 Hands): VI. Fox-Trot (Old Sir Faulk) 01:57
• Total Runtime 01:03:32

Info for Façades

SOMM Recordings explores one of the most significant partnerships in 20th-century British music with Façades, an album of piano-accompanied songs and music for four-hand piano by William Walton and Constant Lambert. Façades takes its title from Walton's era-defining "entertainment", heard here in arrangements for four-hand piano of its two orchestral Suites by Lambert - regarded by Walton as the definitive reciter of Edith Sitwell's nonsense verses. Lambert's Trois pièces nègres pour les touches blanches for piano duet are a kaleidoscopic, jazz-accented tour de force exploration of the piano's white keys. Described by the composer as an "idyll", Walton's Siesta (also for two-player piano) is, says Ronald Woodley in his entertaining and informative booklet notes, "infused with the clear light and open charm of Italy".

The eight song settings by Lambert of poems by the eighth-century Chinese poet Li Po are "exquisitely crafted, restrained and often enigmatic miniatures [marked by an] elusive and allusive musical style". Completing the recital, a selection of songs by Walton range from Tudor pastiche (Under the Greenwood Tree) to the atonal-inflected Tritons and lyrically captivating Beatriz's Song. Making their SOMM debuts are tenor James Geer and his accompanist in the songs, pianist Ronald Woodley. The latter is joined at the keyboard in the four-hand piano arrangements by Andrew West whose previous SOMM recordings include three acclaimed volumes of Parry's English Lyrics.

James Greer, tenor
Andrew West, piano
Ronald Woodley, piano

James Greer
For a decade, James was a member of the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, where he has appeared in more than 300 performances and worked with many of the world's finest conductors and directors, such as Sir Mark Elder, Sir David McVicar, Graham Vick and Vladimir Jurowski. He now sings regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as a member of the extra chorus. As well as singing in the chorus, he has also understudied many of the comprimario roles, including Monsieur Triquet, Remendado and Don Curzio.

When not singing in the chorus, James can be found performing and covering roles for other companies, such as Bury Court Opera, Bampton Opera, Buxton Opera, Scottish Opera, Capella Cracoviensis, Music Theatre Wales, Silent Opera, Caledonian Opera and Haddo House Opera. He has performed many roles, including Don Ottavio, Don Basilio, Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia), Grimoaldo (Rodelinda) and Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance).

James is a seasoned oratorio singer. He has performed The Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall, the Usher Hall and the Cadogan Hall. He has sung with choral societies in the Shetland Islands, the Isle of Mann, the Isle of Wight and Guernsey. He has appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival, the Three Choirs Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival. James regularly works with Capella Cracoviensis in Poland, performing many of the great Handel oratorio tenor roles.

Some of the choirs and orchestras that James has worked with as a soloist include; Philharmonia Orchestra, BBCSSO, BBCNOW, Academy of Ancient Music, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, London Handel Players, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Gloucester Choral Society, Bristol Choral Society, Hexham Festival Chorus, Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, Edinburgh Royal Choral Union, Bishopwearmouth Choral Society, Newcastle Bach Choir, Eastbourne Choral Society, Aberystwyth Choral Society, Ryton Choral Society, Rochester Choral Society, Nottingham Harmonic Choir.

James and his accompanist, Ronald Woodley, have appeared together as a duo over 50 times. Specialising in college recitals, they have performed at many universities, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, Durham, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Southampton. Their first CD - Come, Let Us Make Love Deathless, songs by Holst and Holbrooke - has recently been released on the EM Records label. A further disc including songs by Walton and Constant Lambert will be released next year.

James has also performed, broadcast and recorded numerous Britten works with Malcolm Martineau. Their recording of Britten's Sechs Holderlin Fragmente appears on Malcolm's complete Britten cycles series.

Booklet for Façades