Frederick Long sings Schubert, Shostakovich and Muriel Herbert
This evening's Song at Wolfson concert, featuring baritone Frederick Long and pianist Sholto Kynoch, was exciting for many reasons.
The recital opened with group of six Schubert songs including Auf der Donau and Der Schiffer, performed with insight and gusto, then went on to offer five far lesser-known settings of English verse by none other than Shostakovich. It was fascinating to discover how the Russian composer, writing in the Stalin era, responded to some of the darkest poems of Shakespeare and Raleigh. A remarkably dramatic setting of Burns' Macpherson's Farewell was delivered with humour.
Last came a group of songs by English composers, including Quilter, Ireland, Finzi, and Jonathan Dove. Among these there was one completely new to me, Muriel Herbert, (1897-1984), whose works were largely neglected during her lifetime.
They might have been forgotten had not her daughter, the writer Claire Tomalin, collected the manuscripts, and eventually got them published. It appears that Herbert, who studied composition at the Royal College of Music, and was a successful performer and teacher, wrote over a hundred songs, despite being separated from her husband and having two children to bring up. Recordings of her songs are available at last.
These last two expressive songs, How Beautiful is Night (words by Southey) and Tewkesbury Road (words by John Masefield), were a revelation of this happily rediscovered composer. I am definitely going to find out more about Muriel Herbert.
https://blogs.bl.uk/music/2014/05/preserving-the-legacy-of-muriel-herbert.html