Two Poems by John Masefield

New edition with completion by Christian Alexander of the young composer's first extended work- only the instrumental prelude was performed during Finzi's lifetime. The other three movements are settings of poems by John Masefield, Thomas Hardy and Wilfrid Wilson Gibson.Scored for baritone solo, small chorus (or SATB soli) and chamber orchestra, the wellspring of the Requiem's composition was the death, during active service in 1918, of Finzi's composition teacher, Ernest Farrar. The work may also be viewed as a metaphor - the permanence of the land, and a centuries-old pattern of rural life following the rhythm of the turning seasons, contrasted with the violent havoc and destructive dislocation wrought by war. A reflective and poignant work particularly suitable for performances commemorating the tragedy of World War I. / Baryton, Choeur Mixte Et Orchestre

Ian Venables' The Song Of The Severn is a cycle of songs in celebration of Worcestershire scored for Baritone Voice String Quartet and Piano. “The Song of the Severn…clothes poems by Masefield Housman John Drinkwater and Philip Worner in sharply memorable music of bewitching lyricism idiomatic grace and rapt instinct…No lover of the early-20th-century English art song or pastoral tradition should fail to investigate this notable issue.” - Andrew Achenbach Gramophone “These five songs for voice with piano and string quartet accompaniment take the Severn Riverand its historical and natural associations as a common theme. They are absolutely stunning in their poignant beauty their profoundly noble and moving sense of tragedy and desolation that never turns sentimental or lachrymose and their perfect union of text and music to a level that rivals Schubert and Mahler.” - James A. Altena Fanfare Magazine

This organ reduction is intended to use instead of the original orchestral accompaniment- it is compatible with new edition of Requiem da Camera by Christian Alexander (BH 12681). The organ reduction was done by Francis Jackson, doyen of English cathedral organists and titulaire at York Minster for 36 years.Jackson sympathetically recreates the chamber orchestra scoring for a three-manual organ. Ingeniously, the manual couplings (II to III, II and III to I) are unaltered throughout, with pedal coupled to manuals as appropriate. Detailed registrations are not indicated as these are best left to the performer, taking into account the unique circumstances of the particular instrument, size of choir and acoustic setting at each individual performance.The user-friendly landscape score includes at least one principal vocal line cued throughout, and a cappella choral passages are reproduced in full.Requiem da Camera was Finzi's first extended work- only the instrumental prelude was performed during his lifetime. The other three movements are settings of poems by John Masefield, Thomas Hardy and Wilfrid Wilson Gibson. Scored for baritone solo, small chorus (or SATB soli) and chamber orchestra, the wellspring of the Requiem's composition was the death, during active service in 1918, of Finzi's composition teacher, Ernest Farrar. The work may also be viewed as a metaphor - the permanence of the land, and a centuries-old pattern of rural life following the rhythm of the turning seasons, contrasted with the violent havoc and destructive dislocation wrought by war. A reflective and poignant work particularly suitable for performances commemorating the tragedy of World War I. / Baryton, Choeur Mixte Et Orchestre