If you love -- really, really, really love -- composer Edward Elgar and his music, you'll have to hear this two-disc set. Called Songs & Piano Music by Edward Elgar, it has several important and unique features. First, all the accompaniments are performed on the composer's own 1844 Broadwood Square Piano, which naturally lends an air of palpable authenticity to every work. Second, it contains among its 34 individual pieces four world-premiere recordings ranging from the very early "As I laye a-thynkynge" to the very late "XTC" and from the massive transcription of the Prelude and "Angel's Farewell" from The Dream of Gerontius to the slender sketch of "?," Elgar's first idea of what later became his cello concerto. Third, it includes the song cycle Sea Pictures in its original keys and accompanied only by the piano. Finally, it has tremendously committed performances by all concerned, from pianist David Owen Norris through soprano Amanda Pitt, tenor Mark Wilde, and baritone Peter Savidge to the tiny male chorus of Mark Bamping, William Houghton, and Edward Whiffin. Some might object that the Broadwood, for all its undoubted authenticity, is tinny and slightly out of tune, while others might complain that much of the music is early and quite uncharacteristic of the mature composer. But anyone who loves -- really, really, really loves -- the composer and his music will be champing at the bit to get ahold of this disc. Avie's digital sound is a tad distant, but still clear and evocative.
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