Trees They Grow So High [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
52 minute long collection featuring 19 folk songs arranged by the late Benjamin Britten, including 'Early One Morning','Come You Not From Newcastle?' and 'Sweet Polly Oliver'. Full digital recording with Brightman accompanied only by pianist Geoffrey Parsons. 1998 EMI release.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful singing........2007-01-10

Anthony Rolfe Johnson has a magnificent voice and it is perfectly suited to this selection of songs. The CD notes mention that Sonnet XXX of the Michelangelo is one of Britten's best work, and I agree; it is beautiful.

I have to be in a mood for Britten. Admittedly, most of the time I prefer the fuller, more melodic accompaniment of other composers. But Britten's spare piano is haunting and accentuates the words and phrasing of these songs.

The Magic Of Britten.......2006-04-07

From the rapturous and intense opening songs (Michelangelo Sonnets) to the spare yet moving concluding set (Winter Words, with texts by Thomas Hardy), this CD is a total delight.

Anthony Rolfe Johnson is the perfect Britten tenor. Of course very little of Britten's vocal music could exist if not for the consummate vocal skills of Peter Pears (for whom it was written), but Rolfe Johnson has all the necessary artistry and technique along with a truly natural and beautiful sound.

Of the folk song arrangements included on this disc, special mention has to be made of the heartbreakingly lovely setting and performance of The Salley Gardens.

Winter Words is one of Britten's greatest and most important song collections and it is worth having the CD if only for this. Only Britten could set the English language with such economy yet with such searching results. The exacting and telling piano accompaniments are wonderfully executed by Graham Johnson. Excellent sound and balance.

excellent introduction to the many facets of Britten's work.......2001-10-17

This disc comprises two song cycles, four settings of folk-songs, and a Purcell-inspired canticle. It lays bear the schizophrenic character of the composer's work. For someone used to a starker Britten, the 'Seven Sonnets of Michaelangelo' came as a shock, piano full of rich, warm colour; the voice as often exultant and ecstatic as yearning or despairing. The canticle 'My beloved is mine' is equally strange, the rhapsodies to God in the text sound like a glorious hymn to gay desire, with ambivalent music to match.

The second half is, by contrast, a bleak affair. The unadorned folk settings make melancholy texts even sadder, with the tinkling piano to the tragedy of 'Little Sir William' grotesquely inappropriate. The 'Winter Words' cycle is the finest musical evocation we have of Thomas Hardy - both captring the general atmosphere and feelings we associate with the writer; and offering rich commentary on the individual poems, with their characteristic tales of passing time, unforgiving milieux, missed opportunities and the omnipresent shadow of death. The haunting 'Choirmaster's Burial', in which the title character is denied the burial he wants, only for ghosts to play at his funeral, is one of the greatest songs in any language.

Tracks:

Early One Morning
Come You Not From Newcastle?
Sweet Polly Oliver
The Trees They Grow So High
The Ash Grove
O Waly Waly
How Sweet The Answer
The Plough Boy
Voici Le Printemps
The Last Rose Of Summer
La Belle Est Au Jardin D'amour
Fileuse
Dear Harp Of My Country!
Little Sir William
O Can Ue Sew Cushions?
Oft In The Stilly Night
Quand J'etais Chez Mon Pere
There's None To Soothe
Oliver Cromwell

Album Description

52 minute long collection featuring 19 folk songs arranged by the late Benjamin Britten, including 'Early One Morning','Come You Not From Newcastle?' and 'Sweet Polly Oliver'. Full digital recording with Brightman accompanied only by pianist Geoffrey Parsons. 1998 EMI release.

Album Details

Originally Released in 1988 as "The Trees …", this Recording Was Reissued with an Alternate Title in 1995: "Early in the Morning". Re-released in 1998 under Current Title; Features the Handy Piano Work of Geoffrey Parsons and Arrangements by Benjamin Britten. Includes the Original Track ("Early in the Morning"), "The Last Rose of Summer" and Many More.

Customer Reviews:

NOT for Brightman fanboys :) .......2007-05-14

Guys, if you don't know, what it is - besides the obvious - don't buy it. I almost regretted the purchase and started to enjoy it only after I overcame the shock. On this LP Sarah Brightman sings English songs that were popular in the XIX century and the musical tastes changed since then rather dramatically. So check out the samples first!

A great showcase for Sarah's exceptional tone .......2007-01-29

While other people may think this collection of songs does not do Sarah's voice justice, I strongly disagree. Indeed, if anything her New Age-sounding albums (such as Luna or something or other) I find horrendous and I think they completely scatter the good qualities of her voice. Not so in this album. True, the songs here are not well-known nor are they decorated with operatic frills which Sarah has the well-known ability to perform, but there is a different beauty here, my friends. The legato, angelic quality of Sarah Brightman's voice can truly be heard in these simple melodies, light and free from the heavy chains of pulsed pop and mediocre attempts at an Enya-like portrayal. THESE songs she sings well, THIS is one of her better albums, and HERE is her beautiful sound which I missed in some of her other albums.

Sarah in Recital.......2006-06-08

I believe I own all of the CDs Sarah Brightman has put out and yes, this one is quite different from all the others she's done.

In this CD she sings (in a strictly classical style) some of the many British folksongs collected and arranged by Benjamin Britten; she is accompanied here by only a piano. Thus if you like classical singing and traditional Brit folksongs, then this is the CD for you. If you're wanting something more pop, hip, musical-theatrical, or celtic--look elsewhere.

Sarah has developed her voice over time and this CD is a good example of how all those singing lessons have paid off as she has a beautiful classical voice (amply evident on this CD) as well as the big, full belt style she delivers in musical theatre production numbers (on other CDs).

This is a great CD for these reasons, but not one for the masses.

Folk songs are not suited to The Divine Sarah's voice.......2005-08-24

When Sarah sings in her soprano voice, I describe her voice as "liquid silver notes of perfection." However, even though her voice sounded lovely, it isn't suited to folk songs and folk singing.

I am definetely a fan of English/Irish/Scottish folk songs and have a fairly large collection of them, but this album will be one of those albums I rarely play.

Because she does have such a gorgous voice, it has the effect of making these songs sound, for lack of a better phrase, artificial and somewhat forced. I think her voice might be a little too trained and operatic, even though she is not an opera singer, for these kinds of songs.

In other words, I think her voice might be too good to sing such simple songs, which is not meant to cast aspersions on people who have lovely voices and sing folk songs. Examples of these would be the Angel of Riverdance, Katie McMahon and Connie Dover! Both of these womyn have high, lovely, voices but they don't sound as trained as Sarah does.

So I can't really reccomend this album.

Unique and Distinct Voice Quality.......2005-02-25

There's a gallery of professional singing Sopranos today, and each has her own specific strengths, history of accomplishments, recognition and influence. The uniqueness that Sarah Brightman presents the listener and viewer is that of a totally dedicated artist who has expanded and refined her voice in an area that other Sopranos haven't - youthfulness, diction, control and width. Starting at an early age she succeeded and excelled in a variety of styles and genres. On this CD, with the simple piano accompaniment that enhances her distinctiveness, she's able to maintain the most melodious range, diction and duration. She enhances the meaning of the folklore (whether English or French) and the classics, as it has not been done before. The selection of music pieces offers and tests her voice skills exceptionally well. Any voice student and expert must not miss the opportunity to identify the voice features that Sarah Brightman's talent offers. Her voice uncovers Soprano skills that usually remain hidden.

Average customer rating:

Encourage your brooders to set
Consummate Artistry!

Down By the Salley Gardens

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 Folk | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00005MOC9
Release Date: 2001-08-28

Tracks:

The Jolly Miller
Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes
The Foggy, Foggy Dew
The Isle Of Cloy
The Trees They Grow So High
Died For Love
Lovely Mollie
I Love My Love
the Shooting Of His Dear
Down By The Salley Gardens
The Old Turn Fire
Ye Banks And Braes
Barb'ra Ellen
Barbara Allen
She Moved Thro' The Fair
The star Of The County Down
Sweet Nightengale
Blow The Wind Southerly
The British Waterside
The Pressgang
Little Sir William
Six Dukes Went A-Fishin'
Sweet Polly Oliver
Bold William Taylor
Charlie Is My Darling
O Waly, Waly

Customer Reviews:

Encourage your brooders to set.......2003-03-08

This album falls gracelessly between two stools: art song and folk song. Listening to it was like being stuck in an endless after-dinner recital when all I really wanted to do was drape the concert notes over my eyes and snooze.

I wanted to be polite. After all, I really loved the albums Benjamin Luxon cut with Bill Crofut, where many of this album's songs also appear, only sung in a very tuneful and endearing manner. I highly recommend their "Dance to Your Daddy," "Two Gentlemen Folk," and "Simple Gifts."

For that matter, I'd recommend this baritone's classical CDs to anyone. He sings a mean Bach.

This album? Well, I'm glad Amazon's two-star rating means 'not for me' instead of 'this recording is so incredibly one-dimensional and boring that I'm going to pipe it into my hen house to encourage the brooders to set.'

I know some people will love listening to Benjamin Luxon sing twenty-six English folk songs in what my untrained ear seemed to think was exactly the same manner, tempo, and volume, accompanied by what sounded like the same tune on the piano for all twenty-six tracks (maybe the pianist got sick after the first track and the album's producers thought no one would notice if they recycled his accompaniment twenty-five times). After all, the previous reviewer gave this album five stars and a very respectful evaluation.

I'm saying if you want to hear Benjamin Luxon sing 'Down by the Salley Gardens,' you will be better off with "Dance to Your Daddy" rather than this CD.

Consummate Artistry!.......2002-02-22

In the mid 1990's, Benjamin Luxon was forced to give up
a major international presence singing opera/oratorio/songs because
of his growing deafness. This wonderful reissue gives us a taste
of what we lost yet is a reminder of his consummate artistry.
Luxon and his accompanist, David Willison, give loving
and sometimes spirited interpretations of a wide crossection
of British Isle traditional and folk songs. Thank you, Chandos,
for this reminder of the excellent gifts that Benjamin Luxon shared with us.

Average customer rating:

Britten: Various

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004YU8I
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Tracks:

On This Island, Op.11: 1. Let The Florid Music Praise!
On This Island, Op.11: 2. Now The Leaves Are Falling Fast
On This Island, Op.11: 3. Seascape
On This Island, Op.11: 4. Nocturne
On This Island, Op.11: 5. As It Is, Plenty
Folk Song Arrangements: The Foggy, Foggy Dew
Folk Song Arrangements: The Plough Boy
Folk Song Arrangements: Sweet Polly Oliver
Folk Song Arrangements: O Waly, Waly
Folk Song Arrangements: Come You Not From Newcastle?
Folk Song Arrangements: The Minstrel Boy
Folk Song Arrangements: The Brisk Young Widow
Folk Song Arrangements: Ca' The Yowes
Folk Song Arrangements: The Licolnshire Poacher
Folk Song Arrangements: Le Roi S'en Va-t'en Chasse
Folk Song Arrangements: La Belle Est Au Jardin D'amour
Folk Song Arrangements: Quand J'etais Chez Mon Pere
Folk Song Arrangements: The Salley Gardens
Folk Song Arrangements: Little Sir William
Folk Song Arrangements: The Bonny Earl O' Moray
Folk Song Arrangements: O Can Ye Sew Cushions?
Folk Song Arrangements: The Trees They Grow So High
Folk Song Arrangements: The Ash Grove
Folk Song Arrangements: Oliver Cromwell

Tracks:

Seven Sonnets Of Michelangelo, Op.22: 1. Si Come Nella Penna E Nell'inchiostro (XVI)
Seven Sonnets Of Michelangelo, Op.22: 2. A Che Piu Debb' io Mai L'intensa Voglia (XXXI)
Seven Sonnets Of Michelangelo, Op.22: 3. Veggio Co' Bei Vostri Occhi Un Dolce Lume (XXX)
Seven Sonnets Of Michelangelo, Op.22: 4. Tu Sa' Ch'io So, Signior Mie, Che Tu Sai (LV)
Seven Sonnets Of Michelangelo, Op.22: 5. Rendete A Gli Occhi Miei, O Fonte O Fiume (XXXVIII)
Seven Sonnets Of Michelangelo, Op.22: 6. S'un Casto Amor, S'una Pieta Superna (XXXII)
Seven Sonnets Of Michelangelo, Op.22: 7. Spirto Ben Nato, In Cui Si Specchia E Vede (XXIV)
Canticle I: My Beloved Is Mine, Op.40
Canticle II: Abraham And Isaac, Op.51 - Robert Tear/Sir Philip Ledger/James Bowman
Canticle III: Still Falls The Rain, Op.55 - Robert Tear/Sir Philip Ledger/Alan Civil
Winter Words, Op.52: 1. At Day-close In November
Winter Words, Op.52: 2. Midnight On The Great Western (Or The Journeying Boy)
Winter Words, Op.52: 3. Wagtail And Baby (A Satire)
Winter Words, Op.52: 4. The Little Old Table
Winter Words, Op.52: 5. The Choirmaster's Burial (Or The Tenor Man's Story)
Winter Words, Op.52: 6. Proud Songsters (Thrushes, Finches And Nightingales)
Winter Words, Op.52: 7. At The Railway Station, Upway (Or The Convict And Boy With The Violin)
Winter Words, Op.52: Before Life And After

Average customer rating:

A very pleasant tour through early music history

English Madrigals and Songs

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Partsongs | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

All At Once Well Met: English Madrigals; The King's Singers
Olde English Madrigals & Folk Songs at Ely Cathedral
Madrigal History Tour
English and Italian Renaissance Madrigals
Renaissance Madrigals

ASIN: B000001446
Release Date: 1996-11-19

Tracks:

Pastime With Good Company
Blow Thy Horn, Hunter
Ah Robin, Gentle Robin
Hey Trolly Lolly Lo
Draw On, Sweet Night
Thule, The Period Of Cosmography
Weep, Weep Mine Eyes
As Vesta Was
Sound Saddest Notes
Fair Phyllis
Sleep, Fleshly Birth
Mother, I Will Have A Husband
Lay A Garland
Brigg Fair
The Trees They Do Grow High
The Blue Bird

Customer Reviews:

A very pleasant tour through early music history.......2004-11-24

From King Henry through the early 18th century, the best vocal music of the times. I was so taken by the earliest material that my a capella group learned several of the pieces and have performed them in many venues over the years.

If you like the sound of early music, this is a must-have.

Trees They Grow So High / Folksong Arrangements

Average customer rating:

Trees They Grow So High / Folksong Arrangements
Britten , Sarah Brightman , and Geoffrey Parsons
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000DNKH
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Average customer rating:

Nottamun Town

Manufacturer: Revels Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Traditional Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000D9PFP
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

The False Knight Upon The Road
The Little Turtle Dove
Seventeen Come Sunday
Sir Patrick Spens
Blow Away The Morning Dew
The Trees They Do Grow High
The Crawfish Man's Street Cry
She Moved Through The Fair
The Golden Vanity
The Rich Old Lady
Nottamun Town
John Barleycorn
The Jolly Ploughboy
St. James Hospital
The Brisk Young Widow
Six Dukes Went A-Fishing

Average customer rating:

Beautiful voice, beautiful heart, beautiful music

Ae Fond Kiss

Manufacturer: CBC
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Early One Morning
An Old Derry Air
Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes
Ae Fond kiss
Sonnet: If Thou Must Love Me
Sweet, Be Not Proud
The Last Rose Of Summer From Martha
I Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls From The Bohemian Girl
Home, Sweet Home From Clari, The Maid Of Milan
Long Time Ago
Simple Gifts
At The River
Songs My Mother Taught Me
Berceuse ('O'er The Mountain Twords The West')
An Old Flame
A Night Song
Open Thy Lattice, Love
Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair
If You've Only Got A Moustache
When You And I Were Young
O Waly, Waly
The Trees They Grow So High
She's Like The Swallow
David Of The White Rock
Lemady

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful voice, beautiful heart, beautiful music.......2006-05-10

I bought this disk when I heard the title track on CBC radio. The song in the arrangement by Healy Willan is gorgeous and achingly sad. Edith Wiens won me over immediately with her beautiful voice and the way her singing invites us to feel the love and hurt in the song. It is hard to tell from the words whether it is the love or the hurt that is the greater emotion. The only event I can conceive of that would contain such complete love and utter pain would be the death of one's love, and the words are even more powerful in such a setting.

Ae fond kiss and then we sever
Ae farewell and then forever
Deep in heart wrung tears I'll pledge thee
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee

These are words adapated from a poem by Robert Burns, a man who knew how to write.

Imagine my delight when the rest of the disk contained treat after treat. Songs and ballades by Copeland, Ives, Foster, Britten, MacMillan, Lucas, Butterfield, and others. There are art songs and such familiar songs (or were familiar in my generation and earlier) as "Home, Sweet Home", "The Last Rose of Summer", Jeanie with the light brown hair", "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes" and more.

Edith Wiens is a wonderful Canadian soprano who grew up as a Mennonite in Vancouver and attended Bible College there. She spent three years in Hanover on scholarship studying music and received her Masters (and later an honorary doctorate) from Oberlin. She sings all over the world and gives well received master classes - I am aware of one at Julliard as well. She has sung major roles in operas including several of Mozart's and her recitals are well loved. Once you hear her voice, you will fall for her singing as well.

Britten: Folksong Arrangements; Four Burns Songs; A Charm of Lullabies

Average customer rating:

Britten: Folksong Arrangements; Four Burns Songs; A Charm of Lullabies

Manufacturer: Etcetera
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Four Burns Songs From 'A Birthday Hansel', Op.92: Afton Water - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Four Burns Songs From 'A Birthday Hansel', Op.92: Wee Willie - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Four Burns Songs From 'A Birthday Hansel', Op.92: The Winter - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Four Burns Songs From 'A Birthday Hansel', Op.92: My Hoggie - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: The Ash Grove (Welsh Tune) - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: The Trees They Grow So High (Somerset) - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: O Can Ye Sew Cushions? (Scottish Tune) - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: How Sweet The Answer (The Wren) - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: The Last Rose Of Summer (Groves Of Blarney) - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: The Minstrel Boy (The Moreen) - Yvonne Kenny/Tan Crone
A Charm Of Lullabies, Op.41: A Cradle Song (William Blake) - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone
A Charm Of Lullabies, Op.41: The Highland Balou (Robert Burns) - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone
A Charm Of Lullabies, Op.41: Sephestia's Lullaby (Robert Greene) - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone
A Charm Of Lullabies, Op.41: A Charm (Thomas Randolph) - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone
A Charm Of Lullabies, Op.41: The Nurse's Song (John Philip) - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: The Salley Gardens (Irish Tune) - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: O Waly, Waly (Somerset) - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: Come You Not From Newcastle? - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone
Folksong Arrangements: Quand Jetais Chez Mon Pere (France) - Carolyn Watkinson/Tan Crone

Average customer rating:

The Trees They Grow So High

Manufacturer: EMI
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000DESK0
Release Date: 1998-09-15

Tracks:

Early One Morning
Come You Not from Newcastle?
Sweet Polly Oliver
Trees They Grow So High
Ash Grove
O Waly, Waly
How Sweet the Answer
Plough Boy
Voici le Printemps
Last Rose of Summer
Belle, Est au Jardin d'Amour
Fileuse
Dear Harp of My Country!
Little Sir William
O Can Ye Sew Cushions?
Oft in the Stilly Night
Quand J'ais Chez Non P
There's None to Soothe
Oliver Cromwell

Music:

Music

Music