The Albion label has done yeoman's work (to use a phrase the composer might readily have set) in exposing the lesser-known output of Ralph Vaughan Williams, but perhaps never quite to this extent: 16 of the 25 songs on this album have never been recorded before. Among those that have been, there's also a first: the six-song cycle The House of Life is sung here for the first time by a woman, mezzo-soprano Kitty Whately. Two of the six songs clearly represent a female beloved, to which one might respond that for one thing, ...
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The Albion label has done yeoman's work (to use a phrase the composer might readily have set) in exposing the lesser-known output of Ralph Vaughan Williams, but perhaps never quite to this extent: 16 of the 25 songs on this album have never been recorded before. Among those that have been, there's also a first: the six-song cycle The House of Life is sung here for the first time by a woman, mezzo-soprano Kitty Whately. Two of the six songs clearly represent a female beloved, to which one might respond that for one thing, the cycle was premiered by a female contralto, Edith Clegg, and for another, even if that were not true, it shouldn't make any difference. Whately is a lesser-known quantity here than her male counterpart on the album, baritone Roderick Williams, but she's a perfect foil for him, and the two are delightful when they join forces at the end. Whately brings real passion to The House of Life. Many of the other songs are folkish in nature, and uniquely in Vaughan Williams' ?uvre, there are...
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