O, To Be In England CD Set

Your cares slip away as you listen to beautiful music inspired by the lush English countryside and the sea, including "The Lark Ascending" by Ralph Vaughan Williams, "A Somerset Rhapsody" by Gustav Holst and "Fireworks Music" by George Frederic Handel. Twenty-four works by 15 of England's greatest composers, performed by The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and more. 2 hours on 2 CDs.

O, to be in England

Music for a green and pleasant land

A fine collection of moving and wistful orchestral works which celebrate the English landscape and its natural beauty. English composers have always excelled at pastoral music with a hint of nostalgia: from 'the lark ascending' to the strains of 'Greensleeves' this evocative selection features some of this pleasant land's finest music.

1 Fantasia on Greensleeves Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Judd

2 The Banks of Green Willow George Butterworth (1885-1916)
The London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult

3 Chanson de nuit Op 15/1 Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Judd

4 A Shropshire Lad George Butterworth
The Halle Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli

5 The Lark Ascending Ralph Vaughan Williams
David Greed, violin, The English Northern Philharmonia conducted by David Lloyd-Jones

6 A Somerset Rhapsody Op 21/2 Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by David Lloyd-Jones

7 Tintagel Arnold Bax (1883-1953)
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by David Lloyd-Jones

Inside book:

Home-thoughts, from Abroad

O, to be in England
Now that April 's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England-now!

And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
Hark, where my blossom'd pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops-at the bent spray's edge-
That 's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower
-Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Robert Browning

English music-making and composition has long been associated with a reaction to the beautiful and varied rural landscapes of this historic country. Because it is often tinged with nostalgia and a forlorn romanticism, English music has often been undervalued, not least by the British establishment itself. Sir Edward Elgar was keen on being a part of that establishment , and composed much ceremonial and formal music for royal events and state occasions. He resisted the pastoral idiom at all stages of his life, although the 'Chanson de matin' comes pretty close. Vaughan Williams and Butterworth amongst others, including Arnold Bax, are often thought of as part of an English pastoral tradition stretching back centuries. All these composers were fascinated by English folk music and both used folk songs as the melodic basis of many of their works. But let's not forget that Vaughan Williams studied in Paris with Ravel and Butterworth in London with Sir Hubert Parry: neither of these great men were particularly enamoured of lightweight composing and both were steeped in a fundamentally European tradition of the highest order. Vaughan Williams' and Butterworth's incredibly fine understanding of orchestral writing reflects this. Bax's tone poems fit into the pastoral mode, too, and we enjoy them particularly for this today: but they are also rigorously constructed works by a fine symphonist who was clearly aware of the techniques of Brahms and Bruckner. Bax was fascinated by Celtic legend and English history. This is reflected in the subject matter of Tintagel with its association with King Arthur: 'the castle-crowned cliff of Tintagel, and...the long distances of the Atlantic, as seen from the cliffs of Cornwall on a sunny but not windless summer day.' Gustav Holst loved the English countryside, having been brought up in Gloucestershire on the edge of the Cotswolds. His most famous work is 'The Planets', an orchestral tour de force of the highest order. The 'Somerset Rhapsody' features several folk tunes wrapped up in a sophisticated orchestral texture. It was written at the suggestion of Cecil Sharp, the great collector of English folk music who was also a friend of Vaughan Williams and Butterworth.

Under an English Heaven

From 'Greensleeves' to 'Jupiter', this selection of music in celebration of England's green and pleasant land will evoke fond memories of summer holidays, end-of-term assemblies and listening to the wireless, a time of pride in our country and its heritage.

1 Greensleeves Henry VIII
Jon Banks

2 Nimrod (Enigma Variations) Sir Edward Elgar
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Davis

3 By the sleepy lagoon Eric Coates
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Davis

4 Sailing by Ronald Binge
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Davis

5 In an English country garden Traditional
Martin Souter

6 Chanson de matin Sir Edward Elgar
Martin Souter

7 Water Music - Suite in F George Frideric Handel
Oxford Baroque, Guy Williams

8 Water Music - Finale George Frideric Handel
The Band of Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards

9 Heart of Oak William Boyce
The Band of Her Majesty's Royal Marines

10 Jupiter (The Planets Suite - extract) Gustav Holst
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, José Serebrier

11 Jerusalem Sir Hubert Parry, orchestrated Elgar
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, Carl Davis

12 Overture to HMS Pinafore Sir Arthur Sullivan
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Davis

13 Knightsbridge March (In town tonight) Eric Coates
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Davis

14 Coronation Scot Vivian Ellis
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Davis

15 Ascot Gavotte Frederick Loewe
The Band of Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards

16 Fame and Glory Albert E Matt
The Band of Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards

17 Fireworks Music - Finale George Frideric Handel
London Pro Arte Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras

Inside Book:

A lone shepherd pipes an English tune as he comes down from the hills, and the orchestra then invokes an image of the English landscape so intense that we cannot but be moved. Memories of radio programmes follow, with beautiful music from another age - but which dates from only a few decades ago!

Songs follow, and music for royalty. Handel's 'Water Music' was composed for a King, and a progress up the Thames by barge. 'Heart of oak', 'Jupiter' and Jerusalem' are all well-known tunes, that, in the right time and place -a celebration perhaps, or maybe even just during a walk in beautiful countryside - can send a shiver down the spine. The English are very good at this: evoking in music a spirit of place, a sense of landscape. Composers of the past have also, through their music, been able to create for many listeners a sense of their roots, a sense which we often feel to be sadly lacking in the rushed and busy daily lives of many British people today. This music can ground us back where we belong, while, curiously, at the same time letting our spirits soar, even if it is only to the imaginary blue skies of the English countryside in summer!

'This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea....
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England'

William Shakespeare: Richard II

'I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green and pleasant land'

William Blake: Milton 'And did those feet in ancient time'