Proud Songsters: English Solo Song Collection | Classical & Contemporary Vocal Music for Performances, Recitals & Home Enjoyment

This is a wonderful collection of songs, whose lyrics are mostly derived from poems, but also includes ballads and folk songs. The accompanying piano music helps to colour the lyrics in such a way, that it never overshadows the singers or draws attention away from the lyric's message. The pianist Simon Lepper is marvellous!It was the versatile tenor Andrew Staples, who drew my attention to this CD, and I was happy to see it featured one of my other favourite vocalists, countertenor Tim Mead.Some songs which stood out for me in beauty and depth were:The Sigh; I wandered lonely as a cloud; I will go with my father-a-ploughing, King David; Go, lovely rose and Silent Noon.The accompanying liner notes were extremely informative, and helped provide a deeper understanding of the various lyrics, and the history of the English song as a whole. The CD's cover art is simply gorgeous, one of the most beautiful I have ever seen!Congratulations to the choristers of King's College Cambridge for this gem of a CD, and I highly recommend it to every lover of poetry, ballads and music as a whole!