A worthwhile purchase although not fully representative of the genre.
This is a worthwhile box set for anyone looking for a selection of English songs by a wide range of composers to have conveniently at hand. It is not, however, fully representative of the genre as, for example, the songs of Elgar and Moeran are not included. The inclusion of songs by Gurney are Quilter are, however, especially welcome although devoting seven discs to Britten's songs is disproportionate. It is more than probable that this selection was influenced by the original recordings by Collins Classis upon which much of the set is based. That said the recordings are of an excellent quality, having an unusually successful balance between piano and occasional orchestral accompaniments and solo voice. Singers, on the whole, are well chosen although the omission of Ian Partridge and a far too brief appearance by John Mark Ainsley is disappointing. A useful booklet with background notes and track listings is provided but obviously the text to all the songs has had to be omitted. This is not a disadvantage as the articulation of the soloists, especially Roderick Williams, is especially good. Altogether a worthwhile purchase.