Voice & Piano
A. 'Under The Greenwood Tree' (baritone and piano)
Five Shakespeare Settings.
Duration 15mins
Recordings of a live performance by Peter Edge (link) (baritone) and the composer (piano)
‘Under The Greenwood Tree’
‘When Daffodils’
‘Orpheus With His Lute’
‘Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind’
‘O Mistress Mine’
B. 'By Each Hedge and Hill'.
A Song-Cycle. Words by Andrew Young. Duration approx. 14 mins. [Versions also for piano plus string quintet or an orchestra.] The six songs trace a journey through the seasons of the year. Recordings from a live performance sung by Peter Edge (baritone) acompanied by the composer.
'Last Snow'
'Cuckoos'
'Waiting'
'Stay Spring'
‘Spring Song’
Andrew Young
(1885-1971)
Finale - 'Song'
C. 'Four Nocturnes' (mezzo-soprano and piano)
Words by Andrew Young. Duration 12 mins.
A film to accompany ‘Nocturne’ can be viewed via the VIDEO section of this website.
Recordings by Lucy Elston (link) accompanied by Laurence Panter (link).
‘Summer Night’
'Daisies'
'Nocturne'
'The Moon'
D. 'A Thomas Hardy Collection' (settings for baritone and piano)
Nine Hardy settings that can be performed in any combination or separately as stand-alone songs.
- When I Set Out For Lyonesse
- The Voice
- Weathers
- Summer Schemes
- In The Small Hours
- The Ballad-Singer
- Seen by The Waites
- Great Things
- The Oxen
'In The Small Hours' - sung by Peter Edge
'The Voice' - sung by Peter Edge
'The Ballad-Singer' - sung by Peter Edge
‘When I set Out For Lyonesse’- sung by Mike Sanderson
‘Weathers’ – sung by Mike Sanderson
'The Oxen' - sung by Mike Sanderson. (Listen out for the clock striking twelve at the very beginning...)
Thomas Hardy (1884-1928)
'Seen by The Waites' sung by Peter Edge
'Great Things' sung by Peter Edge
E. 'Silence and Music' (baritone and alto/mezzo with piano). Settings of the poetry of Ursula Vaughan Williams.
Ursula Vaughan Williams was the 2nd wife of composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams. She wrote several novels, libretti for her husband (and for other composers) and several books of poetry. These settings of her poetry can be performed as individual items or as a whole cycle of songs, culminating in both singers singing together in the final song. The final song restates the theme of the opening song to round of the work. These performances are by Peter Edge and Rozanna Madylus and the composer (piano). To find out more about these two fine singers visit:
Peter Edge (website)
'Man Makes Delight His Own'- sung by Peter Edge
'From Joy to Fire' - sung by Rozanna Madylus
Ursula Vaughan Williams with the composer in 2004.
'Song' - sung by Peter Edge
'Night' - sung by Rozanna Madylus
'Nocturne' - sung by Peter Edge
'Effigies' - sung By Rozanna Madylus
'Silence and Music' - sung by Rozanna Madylus & Peter Edge
F. 'Three Paintings by Vincent Van Gogh' (mezzo soprano and piano).
Three songs related to some of the famous paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. Words by Alf Williams.
i) ‘Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer’
ii) ‘La Berceuse’
iii) ‘Sunflowers’
G. 'Three Blake Songs' (baritone and piano)
Words by William Blake
i) ‘Memory Hither Come’
ii) ‘The Echo-ing Green’
iii) ‘The Laughing Song’
'The Echo-ing Green' sung by Peter Edge
H. 'Aspects of The Natural World'
Five settings of poems concerning aspects of the natural world. For mezzo-soprano or baritone voice.
i) ‘The Brook’ – a setting of a captivating poem by Tennyson describing the journey of a little brook travelling through the countryside – until it eventually joins with and becomes part of a larger river.
ii) ‘March Hares’ – words taken from a poem by Andrew Young. Composed (appropriately!) in March, 2024.
iii) ‘The Urban Fox’ – words by contemporary writer, Anthony Pinching. The wonderfully descriptive words capture the night-time adventure of a fox.
iv) ‘The Lark’ – words by William Wordsworth. Written after hearing Simon Armitage reading the poem ‘The Lark’ on BBC Radio 4.
v) ‘The Owl’ – words by Walter De La Mer
'March Hares' sung by Peter Edge
'The Urban Fox' sung by Peter Edge
I. 'Four Seascapes' for Baritone and Piano (Words by John Betjeman)
Four songs about the coastal scenery of the UK, with some beautifully descriptive words by John Betjeman. The first song contains a musical reference to ‘Tintagel’ by Arnold Bax.
i) ‘Cornish Cliffs’ –‘The seagulls plane and circle out of sight‘ sets the scene and the general mood of the song.
i) ‘Dawlish’ – the rather ‘Brittenesque’ piano accompaniment conveys the sound of an old steam train that runs by the sea at Dawlish in Devon.
ii) ‘Bay at Anglesea’ – ‘the sleepy sound of a tea-time tide’ in the words of the poem.
iii) ‘Winter Seascape’ – depicting a wild, stormy sea, crashing against the rocks and swirling around the cliffs and caves…. the song is written in 5/4 time.
'Cornish Cliffs' sung by Peter Edge
'Dawlish' sung by Peter Edge
'Bay at Anglesea' sung by Peter Edge
'Winter Seascape' sung by Peter Edge
J. Two Songs for Soprano (Words by Anthony Pinching)
1) C’est La Vie’ – A light-hearted, comical song about a contemporary couple who just can’t cope that well with each other.
ii) ‘Summer Dance’ – Another light-hearted song concerning a young lady who is looking forward to and preparing to be going to a village dance.
The two songs were especially written for the Peter Trancell Competition, 2024.
'C'est La Vie' sung by Rozanna Madylus
Voice And Orchestra
A. 'A Garland for Christmas' (baritone and orchestra)
Five Seasonal Songs for Baritone and Orchestra. Duration 14 mins. Words by a variety of poets – including Shakespeare and Hardy. (See also under ‘Orchestral Music’)
Listen to Andrew Sparling sing the third movement: ‘A Recipe For A Christmas Pudding’, accompanied by the Crowthorne Symphony Orchestra (conductor Robert Roscoe):
A Recipe For A Christmas Pudding
A Choir in Winnipeg has made a little film to go with this particular movement. It starts at 6 minutes 30 secs into the video. Click on: Simple Gifts – YouTube
B. 'By Each Hedge And Hill' (baritone and orchestra)
Song Cycle for Baritone and Orchestra. Duration 15 mins. Words by Andrew Young. (see also in ‘Voice and Piano’ section).
C. 'The Manner Of The Worlde Nowadays' (baritone and orchestra)
A work for Baritone and Orchestra based on the poems of John Skelton. A dramatic, but light-hearted work consisting of a Prologue, 4 poem settings and an Epilogue. It includes a setting of the title poem ‘The World Nowadays’. The singer takes on the character of the poet himself. In the Epilogue there is a short quotation from Vaughan Williams’ ‘Five Tudor Portraits’ – his settings in music of the same poet. Duration 21 mins approx.
Here is a live recording of two of the movements recorded in the same church where Skelton was a rector – at St. Mary’s Church, Diss, with the singing of Peter Edge (baritone). The composer hopes that there might one day be a performance of the cantata with an orchestra, as originally intended.
‘Merry Margaret’
‘The Manner of The Worlde Nowadays’
*I hope that if you have alighted on this page on my website, you have might have found time to enjoy listening to some of the recordings to be accessed here – with the various fine contemporary singers that have contributed with their wonderful singing. You are welcome to contact me via my contact page if you have perhaps enjoyed a particular song – as I would be interested to know. PDF’s of most of my music is available (free of charge) on request. Printed copies of the Shakespeare Songs and the Thomas Hardy settings are available to purchase.