Vaughan Williams - The Sky Shall Be Our Roof
Fox; Pochin; Staples; Williams; Burnside
Albion ALB001
Release date October 2007
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The operas of Vaughan Williams are generally little known. The Sky Shall Be Our Roof contains songs from Hugh the Drover, Sir John in Love and The Pilgrim’s Progress. The songs here have been transcribed for piano accompaniment by Vaughan Williams himself, and the majority are première recordings. Immediately striking is the purity of the singing on the disc. Roderick Williams is no stranger to Vaughan Williams, having made several recordings for Chandos. The other soloists, whilst having far less Vaughan Williams upon their CVs, appear to be just as much at home in the repertoire. There are two duets on this disc (Ah! Love I’ve found you and Hugh my lover) sung here by Sarah Fox and Andrew Staples – both pieces are simply beautiful. The voices weave around each other, creating the amorous mood that the text dictates. Iain Burnside’s piano accompaniment is spot-on throughout, sensitively capturing the variety of moods. My one complaint about the disc is that the sleeve-notes have failed to mention which soloist is singing each piece – so, instead, careful detective work is required to distinguish the singers.
Ruth Squire