Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?: Sonnets in Music

Through all of these Johnson and his namesake, accompanist Graham Johnson, are vivid guides. Johnson (the singer [possesses] melting head tones but also a sometimes forceful edge. Each of the... — Gramophone Magazine, December 2016 More…

Release Date: 12th Aug 2016
Catalogue No: CHRCD103
Label: Champs Hill Records
Length: 78 minutes

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Schubert: Sonnet III: Nunmehr, da Himmel, Erde schweigt, D. 630

Work length5:21

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Schubert: Apollo, lebet noch D. 628

Work length2:47

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Schubert: Schatzgrabers Begehr, D. 761, Op. 23 No. 4

Work length3:42

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Brahms: 8 Lieder and Romances, Op. 14: IV. Ein Sonett

Work length2:11

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Liszt: Tre Sonnetti di Petrarca. S. 158

Work length18:03

$3.00

$4.20

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

I. Pace non trovo

Track length6:11

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$1.40

II. Benedetto sia’l giorno

Track length5:55

$1.00

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III. I' vidi in terra

Track length5:57

$1.00

$1.40

Aikin: Sonnet XVIII - Shall I compare thee

Work length3:14

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Parry: No longer mourn for me

Work length3:19

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Parry: Farewell thou art too dear

Work length3:14

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Parry: English Lyrics, Set 4: No. 6 Bright Star

Work length3:15

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Vaughan Williams: Silent Noon

Work length4:25

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Bowerman: Sonnet 43 - When most I wink

Work length2:37

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Caplet: Doux fut le trait

Work length2:26

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Sauguet: Je te vois en reve

Work length3:07

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Britten: Fish in the Unruffled Lakes: I. To Lie Flat on the Back

Work length2:31

$1.00

$1.40

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Britten: Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Op. 22

Work length17:50

$7.00

$9.80

Graham Johnson, Ben Johnson

Sonetto XVI "Si come nella penne"

Track length2:05

$1.00

$1.40

Sonetto XXXI "A che più debb’ io mai"

Track length1:36

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Sonetto XXX "Veggio co’ be vestry occhi"

Track length4:00

$1.00

$1.40

Sonetto LV "Tu sa’ ch’o so"

Track length2:04

$1.00

$1.40

Sonetto XXXVIII "Rendete a glib occhi miei"

Track length1:59

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Sonetto XXXII: S’un cast amor

Track length1:23

$1.00

$1.40

Sonetto XXIV "Spirito ben nato"

Track length4:43

$1.00

$1.40

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Ben Johnson is accompanied by duo partner Graham Johnson in a new recording of timeless sonnets and poetry by Shakespeare, Petrarch and Michelangelo (amongst others), all set to music by British, French and German composers.

This programme of 19th- and 20th-century songs shows how the influence of great literature has proven irresistible to composers. Ben Johnson introduces the inspiration for the programme: “Though the sonnet originated in Italy, it is Wales that I have to thank for the genesis of this programme. Cardiff-bound for the Singer of the World competition, I set my mind to choosing a Song Prize recital that could somehow be linked together yet also offer a great range of repertoire. After many a false start, I came across Schubert’s settings of Petrarch (in Schlegel’s translation). This led me to the famous Liszt settings that were already in my repertoire. And so the idea was born. This enduring poetic form seemed the perfect glue to bind musical settings from across the centuries, encompassing such an incredible variety of musical styles and personal approaches from composers.”

Alongside the more well-known works the programme includes two lesser known settings of Sonnet 43 (“When Most I Wink...”) – one by French composer Henri Sauguet and the second by English composer David W. Bowerman (composed at Champs Hill where the recording was made).

Ben Johnson represented England in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2013 and won the Audience Prize. Winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards in 2008, and 2011 Wigmore Hall Emerging Talent, Johnson is currently an English National Opera Harewood Artist.

Graham Johnson is recognised as one of the world’s leading vocal accompanists. He was made an OBE in the 1994 Queen’s Birthday Honours list and he was also made an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Society in February 2010.

Reviews

December 2016

Through all of these Johnson and his namesake, accompanist Graham Johnson, are vivid guides. Johnson (the singer [possesses] melting head tones but also a sometimes forceful edge. Each of the Liszt songs starts out sounding stressed but resolves in a spirit of tenderness, and the most extreme vocal challenges…are skilfully handled…nearly 80 minutes spent with some of the world’s greatest poetry can hardly fail to be a pleasure

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?

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