Ireland & Moeran: Choral Music The Carice Singers & George Parris

• 1A Cradle Song02:34
• 2Weep you no more, sad fountains02:07
• 3Laughing Song01:00
• 4The Peaceful Western Wind02:01
• 5Spring, the Sweet Spring01:39
• 6When May is in His Prime02:56
• 7Cupid01:06
• 8Fain would I change that note02:16
• 9Twilight Night02:54
• 10These Things Shall Be02:48
• 11The Hills02:44
• 12Immortality03:47
• 13They Told Me, Heraclitus02:45
• 14Sea Fever (arr. M. Thomas for choir and piano)02:40
• 15In Praise of Neptune01:55
• 16No. 1. Under the Greenwood Tree01:06
• 17No. 2. The River-God's Song01:49
• 18No. 3. Spring, the Sweet Spring01:27
• 19No. 4. Love is a Sickness03:24
• 20No. 5. Sigh no more, Ladies01:38
• 21No. 6. Good Wine01:16
• 22No. 7. To Daffodils02:36
• 23Blue-eyed Spring01:06
• 24Weep you no more, sad fountains02:05
• 25I. Madrigal: Phyllida and Corydon03:14
• 26II. Madrigal: Beauty sat bathing by a spring04:37
• 27III. Pastoral: On a hill there grows a flower03:05
• 28IV. Air: Phyllis inamorata00:59
• 29V. Ballet: Said I that Amaryllis01:34
• 30VI. Canzonet: The treasure of my heart02:45
• 31VII. Air: While she lies sleeping03:10
• 32VIII. Pastoral: Corydon, arise02:53
• 33IX. Madrigal: To meadows03:49
• Total Runtime01:17:45

Info for Ireland & Moeran: Choral Music

Renowned for his outstanding piano miniatures and solo songs, John Ireland is little known these days as a composer of partsongs. His deep understanding of choral forces brings a unique polish and artistry to the genre, his early style reflecting a deference to his masters Parry and Stanford, and deeply moving post-war masterpieces such as Twilight Night exploiting a more acerbic harmonic vocabulary. E.J. Moeran's inclination towards introspective melancholy blends with his knowledge of Elizabethan madrigal and renaissance dance, resulting in true gems on themes of love such as While she lies sleeping.

The Carice Singers are an ensemble comprised of some of the United Kingdom's best young professional singers, noted for their 'freshness of tone' and 'careful musicality' (Gramophone). Named after the daughter of Sir Edward Elgar, the choir aims to bring an imaginative approach to choral music of the Romantic period and beyond, frequently drawing upon the latest academic research to produce original and insightful programmes. Among The Carice Singers' ongoing projects is a mini-series of recordings for Naxos featuring choral music by lesser-known British composers, including Warlock, E.J. Moeran and Bax.

„The plethora of outstanding young English professional singers has created a host of fine chamber choral groups, The Carice Singers being one of the most recent. For many years John Ireland was a church organist in London where he became familiar with partsongs, and though his output in the genre was limited, the disc’s contents show him to have been active in this field through his long life. In creating the many and varied moods, he used a wide-ranging group of famous British poets spread over four centuries. Ireland was then to become the mentor of Ernest John Moeran in whom he awakened a love of song, though it was to be Moeran’s friend, the composer Peter Warlock, who introduced him to the Elizabethan and Jacobean era. It was from there that the idea for the disc’s most extended work, Phyllida and Corydon, was born. In nine sections, containing Madrigals, Airs and Pastorals, it relates the feelings of the lovelorn young couple of the title. Moeran also coupled seven songs under the title Songs of Springtime, the music, employing harmonies more adventurous than Ireland, and ideally reflecting the nature of the poems. In summary, the coupling is well chosen and hugely desirable, the twenty members of Carice, and their conductor, George Parris, obviously very much attuned to both composers. …the young group produce a beautiful sound, the Oxford church providing a nice warming acoustic. Words are printed in the booklet, though the diction is excellent.“ (David’s Review Corner)

The Carice Singers
George Parris, direction

The Carice Singers
are an ensemble comprised of some of the UK’s finest young professional singers, noted for their “freshness of tone” and “careful musicality” (Gramophone). Named after the daughter of Sir Edward Elgar, the choir aims to bring an imaginative approach to choral music of the Romantic period and beyond, frequently drawing upon the latest academic research to produce original and insightful programmes. Launched in 2011 with an inaugural recital of Elgar’s choral works in the Cotswolds, the choir maintains a tradition of performing in rural areas, as well as making appearances at more familiar venues. Among The Carice Singers’ ongoing projects is a mini-series of CD recordings for Naxos featuring choral music by lesser-known British composers, including Peter Warlock, EJ Moeran, and Sir Arnold Bax.

Past projects have included concerts in Chipping Campden, Burford and Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds, a recital of Elgar's part-songs at the Elgar Birthplace Museum, and an evensong at Westminster Abbey. The choir recently ventured overseas on their first international tour to Ireland.

George Parris
is a singer, conductor, and student of early-twentieth-century Anglo-Irish music. His commitment to this repertoire has been recognised by, among others, the Peter Warlock Society, the John Ireland Charitable Trust, and the Elgar Society, who awarded him with a Certificate of Merit in 2011. In the same year, he founded The Carice Singers, and has since directed the choir in a number of concerts and recordings, many of which have received excellent reviews. He has recently completed a Master’s degree at the University of Oxford, in which he focussed on the ‘Irish’ music of Sir Arnold Bax.

Booklet for Ireland & Moeran: Choral Music