Partsongs, Pastorals and Folksongs to be released on CORO

6 September 2024

The Sixteen’s award-winning record label, will celebrate the centenary of composer Charles Villiers Stanford in a special album featuring 17 new premiere recordings. Partsongs, Pastorals and Folksongs from The Sixteen conducted by Harry Christophers, will be released on Friday 6 September.

Celebrated as one of the leading musicians of his generation, Stanford is best remembered for his choral writing. His exquisite vocal lines and imaginative storytelling is present in the four choral cycles showcased in this album - Six Irish Folksongs, Eight Partsongs, Six Elizabethan Pastorals and Nine Irish Folk Songs.

The album features multiple premiere recordings, including Plighted, The Guest, Larghetto and Wilderspin from Eight Partsongs; Damon’s Passion and Phoebe from Six Elizabethan Pastorals, and the entirety of Nine Irish Folk Songs.

Stanford’s dedication to the poetry of Mary Elizabeth Coleridge is also reflected in this collection, particularly her words regarding loss and change, portrayed beautifully in The Guest with its unsettling narrative. In Stanford’s hands, the poem is presented as a mini-opera, allowing the music and drama to take precedence over three and a half minutes.

Harry Christophers, Founder and Conductor of The Sixteen, says:

“The Sixteen has spent the majority of its existence performing and recording sacred music, until I made a decision last year to release an album devoted solely to secular music – ‘Sirens’ Song’ – allowing me to rediscover Stanford’s beloved ‘The Blue Bird’. I had no idea that this jewel was one of a cycle of Eight Partsongs. With the help and enthusiasm of Jeremy Dibble, I have now been introduced to a plethora of Stanford’s choral works, many of which receive premiere recordings on this album.

It is the simple things that Stanford does incredibly well; he writes exquisitely for voices and his storytelling is so imaginative. Stanford’s capable musical writing has made our experience of recording them amazingly rewarding and beautifully refreshing. They have been a revelation and such fun to perform, and we can’t wait for you to listen.’

The day following the release, Saturday 7 September, The Sixteen will take part in the BBC Prom’s Choral Day, featuring Stanford’s Three Motets and ‘The Guest’, ‘When Mary thro’ the garden went’ and ‘To a Tree’ from Eight Partsongs. The performance will also feature works by Parry, Gardiner, Harris, Ireland and Elgar in a celebration of British choral music.

Track Listing:

Six Irish Folksongs, Op. 78

1.         Oh! breathe not his name

2.          What the bee is to the flow’ret

3.          At the mid hour of night

4.         The sword of Erin

5.         It is not the tear

6.          Oh, the sight entrancing

   Eight Partsongs, op. 127

7.        Plighted     

8. Ventea

9.      When Mary thro’ the garden went

10.    The Haven

11. The Guest*

12. Larghetto*

13.    Wilderspin*

14.    To a tree*

    Six Elizabethan Pastorals (Set 1), Op. 49

15.     To his flocks

16.     Diaphenia

17.     Damon’s passion*

18.    Sweet love for me

19.     Corydon, arise!

20.     Phoebe*

21. Nine Irish Folksongs

22.    ‘Twas pretty to be in Ballinderry*

23.    Come, rest in this bosom*

24.    Silence is inn oiur festal halls*

25.    Wreathe the bowl*

26.    When she answered me*

27.    She is far from the land*

28.   St Mary’s Bells*

29. Awake, awake, Fianna*

30.    Molly Hewson*

    Bonus Track

31. Emer’s farewell to Cucullain (Londonderry Air)*

*indicates premiere recording

Partsongs, Pastorals and Folksongs is kindly supported by The Stanford Society.