The distinguished Australian-born soprano Margaret Field, a voice of warmth,
character and admirable clarity, is a keen gardener and has collected some
60 songs about roses, of which 25 are recorded here. Not all are British,
as we have examples form France (Fauré, Franck, Massenet), Germany
(Spohr, Schumann, Schubert, Strauss, Reger), Russia (Rimsky-Korakov, Medtner)
and Finland (Sibelius), but 13 of them are. Four are characteristically fluent,
shapely imaginations by Quilter ( A Last Year's Rose was new to me),
two ballads each by Landon Ronald (both wonderfully ardent) and Haydn Wood
(Roses of Picardy, which I have never heard better sung than this,
and the rathr similar Love's Garden of Roses). I also particularly
enjoyed Liza Lehmann's ecstatic June Rapture, Delius' delicately scented
In the Garden of the Seraglio and that noted educationist William
Henry Hadow's A Red Red Rose, a deliciously fresh setting of Burns'
famous words. Elgar's Damask Rose goes well, the most modern song
here is the whimsical A Perfect Rose by John Rushby-Smith, producer
of this very Cd. Andre Ball supports splendidly; recording and presentation
are very good (the booklet prints all the words and, where necessary,
translations).
Sheer delight from start to finish.
Reviewer
Peter Seivewright
Margaret
Field (soprano) Andrew Ball
(piano)
