Elgar Falstaff, Orchestral Songs & Grania and Diarmid Roderick Williams, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra & Sir Andrew Davis

• Sir Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): Falstaff, Op. 68:
• 1 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: I. Falstaff and Prince Henry 03:09
• 2 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IIa. Eastcheap 02:54
• 3 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IIb. Gadshill 09:22
• 4 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IIc. Revelry & Sleep 01:15
• 5 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IId. Dream Interlude 02:36
• 6 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IIIa. Falstaff's march 02:59
• 7 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IIIb. The Return Through Gloucestershire 01:28
• 8 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IIIc. Interlude. Gloucestershire, Shallow's orchard 01:35
• 9 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IIId. The New King 01:07
• 10 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IVa. King Henry V's Progress 03:30
• 11 Elgar: Falstaff, Op. 68: IVb. The Repudiation of Falstaff, and His Death 06:12
• Three Songs, Op. 59:
• 12 Elgar: Three Songs, Op. 59: III. O Soft Was the Song 01:55
• 13 Elgar: Three Songs, Op. 59: V. Was It Some Golden Star? 02:13
• 14 Elgar: Three Songs, Op. 59: VI. Twilight 02:28
• Two Songs, Op. 60:
• 15 Elgar: Two Songs, Op. 60: I. The Torch 02:40
• 16 Elgar: Two Songs, Op. 60: II. The River 04:05
• Incidental Music to Grania and Diarmid, Op. 42:
• 17 Elgar: Incidental Music to Grania and Diarmid, Op. 42: I. Moderato 03:23
• 18 Elgar: Incidental Music to Grania and Diarmid, Op. 42: II. Funeral March 06:57
• The Wind at Dawn (Version for Voice and Orchestra):
• 19 Elgar: The Wind at Dawn (Version for Voice and Orchestra) 03:17
• The Pipes of Pan (Version for Voice and Orchestra):
• 20 Elgar: The Pipes of Pan (Version for Voice and Orchestra) 03:52
• Pleading, Op. 48:
• 21 Elgar: Pleading, Op. 48 02:27
• The King's Way (Version for Voice and Orchestra):
• 22 Elgar: The King's Way (Version for Voice and Orchestra) 04:10
• Smoking Cantata:
• 23 Elgar: Smoking Cantata 00:49
• Total Runtime 01:14:23

Info for Elgar Falstaff, Orchestral Songs & Grania and Diarmid

Sir Andrew Davis takes his multi-award-winning Elgar discography to the next level with breathtaking interpretations of Falstaff, Elgar’s most accomplished and characteristic work, and several orchestral songs, with exemplary support from the BBC Philharmonic, all recorded in surround-sound. Owing to its technical challenges and more complex harmonic language, the composer always had a high opinion of Falstaff, saying that he had enjoyed writing it ‘more than any other music I have ever composed and perhaps for that reason it may prove to be among my best efforts’. His earlier music for Grania and Diarmid pays tribute to the Irish legend of Diarmuid and Grainne; the Funeral March is probably Elgar’s noblest creation, and echoes the popular Pomp and Circumstance Marches. The various less well-known songs, given heroic interpretations by the baritone Roderick Williams OBE, span the multiple facets of Elgar’s style, from the stern and dramatic impressions of Op. 60 to the satirical and impish jollity of ‘Kindly do not SMOKE’.

"The performances of the songs are ardent, warm and full of conviction. As ever Roderick Williams sounds completely on the composer’s side. But after Falstaff it’s all too clear that they really aren’t top drawer Elgar. A fine effort all round, recording very much included, but perhaps not the ideal present for an Elgar-phobic." (BBC Music Magazine)

"This is Andrew Davis’s third recording of Elgar’s Falstaff. It is, not to beat about the bush, a superbly perceptive traversal, evincing a strength of purpose, emotional candour and meticulous attention to detail that give it the edge over its notable predecessors...All told, a terrific anthology, and absolutely not to missed." (Gramophone Magazine)

"This is top Elgar, the Funeral March being particularly impressive. I confess I had not even thought about Elgar as a song writer but the selection we have here in orchestral garb are without exception a delight. Full of nostalgia but always with attractive melodies, albeit short-breathed compared to the Elgar of Gerontius and all the other masterly oratorios." (MusicWeb International)

Roderick Williams, baritone
BBC Philharmonic
Sir Andrew Davis, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for Elgar Falstaff, Orchestral Songs & Grania and Diarmid