Songs from Shakespeare (Op.20)

1981

A set of songs for baritone and piano

  1. Under the Greenwood Tree

    2 minutes

    This is a setting for baritone of Amiens' song from Act 2, Scene 5 of As You Like It. Set in a lilting G modal/major tonality, the two verses are employed strophically with the piano postlude to each verse being identical to the introduction.

  2. O Mistress Mine

    2 minutes

    This setting of the clown's song from Twelfth Night (Act 2, Scene 3) is wistful and juxtaposes an E flat major/minor tonality. The piano accompaniment plays a dominant role in conveying the atmosphere, developing and imitating material from the vocal line.

  3. Come Away Death

    3 minutes

    This is a setting of Feste's song from Act 2, Scene 4 of Twelfth Night. The two verses, in an appropriately wistful mood, are set strophically, rising a tone from D to E modal minor. The piano enhances the emotional atmosphere with melodic development and enhancement throughout.

  4. It was a lover and his lass

    2 minutes 30 seconds

    This is a setting for baritone of the pages' song from Act 5, Scene 3 of As You Like It. The four verses are set strophically in a modal D minor. The piano accompaniment varies two ideas: the first, using ostinati semiquavers, evokes a 16th-century secular style; the other, using syncopated quavers, returns to a more modern mood with hints of jazz rhythm and harmony. The final verse amalgamates the two styles of accompaniment.

  5. Blow, blow, thou winter wind

    For baritone and piano

    This is a setting for baritone and piano of Amiens' song from Act 2 Scene 7 of As You Like It.

    Set loosely in a modal D minor, this song has an underlying ironic mood that pervades the seemingly upbeat nature of the text.

    The second verse concludes ambiguously in G - neither major nor minor.

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