Robin Milford: Piano Music and Songs
The music of Robin Milford (1903-59) taps into that distinctly English vein of pastoral melancholy. Lying on a continuum between the work of his friends Gerald Finzi and Ralph Vaughan Williams, Milford’s voice is nonetheless unique: lyrical, gentle, unemphatic – quietly individual. The dark lyricism of the songs on this CD, reflecting the composer’s troubled life, offers a striking contrast with the buoyant, folksong-inspired dances for solo piano – Milford at his happiest.
Phillida Bannister, contralto
Raphael Terroni, piano
Listen To This Recording:
-
My Lady’s Pleasure, for piano
- Pastorale
- Gavotte
- Jig
- No. 2, ‘The Colour’
- No. 4, ‘Tolerance’
- Cradle Song (Blake)
- Daybreak (Donne)
- Matthew’s and Welch’s
- Reputation Square
- George’s, and the New Wells Hornpipe
- Trim the French
- Jack in his Trousers
- Jupiter in the Clouds
- No. 1, ‘So Sweet Love Seemed’
- No. 2, ‘Elegy’
- No. 4, ‘Love on my Heart’
- No. 2, ‘Summer. Pleasure It Is’ (Cornish)
- No. 4, ‘Winter. This Endris Night’ (Anon)
- Prelude
- Air
- Finale
- No. 1, ‘Song of St Mary the Virgin (The Magnificat)’
- No. 2, ‘The Song of Simeon (The Nunc Dimittis)’
- No. 3, ‘Idleness’ (Young)
- No. 4, ‘Christmas Day’ (Young)
- No. 5, ‘In Cornwall’ (Ridler)
- No. 6, ‘Expectans Expectavi’ (Ridler)
- No. 7, ‘The Holy Tide’ (Tennyson)
- No. 8, ‘The Glance’ (Herbert)
- No. 9, ‘Sleep’ (Williams)
- Days and Moments
- II. Autumn: No. 4, ‘An Epitaph’ (Walter de la Mare)
Four Hardy Songs (Hardy)
Reputation Square, for piano
Four Songs (Bridges), Nos 1, 2 and 4
Four Seasonable Songs, Nos. 2 and 4
Prelude, Air and Finale (on a well-known mordent), for piano
Swan Songs
Jenifer’s Jingle, for piano
The Observer :
‘[Milford’s] music has been undeservedly neglected, so this CD is a welcome display of his beautifully crafted, solidly made and yet light and flexible piano music, played with real sparkle by Raphael Terroni.’
—Stephen Prichard, The Observer
MusicWeb International. :
‘this is a most handsomely performed, recorded and presented collection representing the lyric pastel-shaded English pastoralism with which Milford’s scores are imbued’
—Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International.
Gramophone :
Editor’s Choice
‘… the strongest of Milford’s song settings […] possess a frequently captivating melodic charm and directness of expression to which many will rightly respond, especially when contralto Phillida Bannister sings with such infectious commitment and tangible projection. Terroni, too, accompanies with watchful sensitivity, and there can be no complaints about either Michael Ponder’s truthful production or Peter Hunter’s assiduously detailed notes. This generously filled anthology deserves every success.’
—Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone