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Grace Williams - Orchestral Works 2024 

101 Four Illustrations for the Legend of Rhiannon I. The Conflict.flac
102 Four Illustrations for the Legend of Rhiannon II. The Nuptial Feast.flac
103 Four Illustrations for the Legend of Rhiannon III. The Penance.flac
104 Four Illustrations for the Legend of Rhiannon IV. The Return of Pryderi.flac
105 Castell Caernarfon.flac
106 Ballads I. Allegro moderato, alla canzone.flac
107 Ballads II. Alla marcia solenne.flac
108 Ballads III. Andante calmante.flac
109 Ballads IV. Allegro furioso.flac
110 Sea Sketches for String Orchestra I. High Wind.flac
111 Sea Sketches for String Orchestra II. Sailing Song.flac
112 Sea Sketches for String Orchestra III. Channel Sirens.flac
113 Sea Sketches for String Orchestra IV. Breakers.flac
114 Sea Sketches for String Orchestra V. Calm Sea in Summer.flac
booklet.pdf
cover.jpg
foo_dr.txt
Grace Williams Orchestral Works 2024.nzb
Lossless Audio Checker.log


Grace Williams, born in Barry, south Wales, was a Welsh composer through and through and felt most comfortable in her homeland. But she spent many years away, studying notably in London with Vaughan Williams and later in Vienna with Egon Wellesz. The rigorous though very different methods of training both demanded can be heard translated through her brilliance in the works on this well-filled disc.

The quality of her music is apparent even in the early works such as the Four Illustrations for the Legend of Rhiannon (1939), a masterful 25-minute suite that vividly brings to life episodes from the Mabinogion. The sheer brilliance of the recorded sound is extraordinary and from the outset, the vividness of the orchestra under the ever-excellent John Andrews leaps out of the speakers. The rhythms are highlighted with a dance like precision. By the time Sea Sketches were completed in London in 1944 we can hear the sound world of a significant voice. It is full of longing for her home, and in the expertise of the scoring and the memorable melodic material the sound world of her great friend Britten comes to mind.  The sea of course influenced them both, but Williams has her own melodic voice.


met dank aan de originele poster