Michael William Balfe was inspired by the
poems of Longfellow (1807-1882). In the
mid-1850s when the success of Balfe's operatic output had started to wane, he
turned his attention to writing ballad "pot-boilers". Many of the Longfellow ballads were written
on his way home from Russia after a visit to St. Petersburg. Six songs and aduet were published by Boosey in 1855 and 1857.
Balfe's capacity for writing was high: he was always willing to write replacement arias for opera revivals to fit a new
singer's register for example. Never short of ideas, he could pick a glorious
melody from his mind with little effort. This enhanced his reputation to write
good and memorable tunes, the hallmark of acceptable ballads. When a youth,
Balfe used Thomas Haynes Bayly's poetry for his first song, "A Lover's Mistake". A number of other
settings followed, including "A Simple Rose" that is found in this album.
In Longfellow's day, many townspeople knew his poetry, recited it and memorized the contents. The addition of music
provided an extra dimension to poetry known by heart, and consequently the
songs found wide appeal.
The CD is available from Victorian
Opera Northwest. Please see here to order.
Sample tracks:
"The
Old House by the Lindens" (1862) -
words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
An endearing reminiscence of childhood days and the cherished
memories associated with the old house.
" In this Old Chair"
comes from the opera The Maid of Honour (1847)
- words by Edward Fitzball
.
The plot concerns
two Maids of Honour to Queen Elizabeth I at Greenwich Palace. This ballad is
one of only two numbers that were published. For no vocal score or libretto
exists. Here the tenor sings of his recollections of life in a Victorian
family.
Track
list:
The
Sicilian Bride (1852): Flag of our country - words by
Alfred Bunn
Daybreak
(1859) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Come
into the garden Maud (1857) - words by Alfred Lord Tennyson
The
Old House by the Lindens (1862) - words by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow (sample track)
The
Rainy Day (1857) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The
Green Trees (1856) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The
Happiest Land (1856) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A
Simple Rose - words by Thomas Haynes Bayly
The
Two Locks of Hair (1857) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The
Reaper and the Flowers (1855) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The
Arrow and the Song (1857) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The
Maid of Artois (1836): The heart that fondly teems - words by
Alfred Bunn
The
light of other days - words by Alfred Bunn
(note these tracks
are different performances from those on the VONW The Maid of Artois CD)
The
Bohemian Girl (1843): I dreamt that I dwelt - words by Alfred
Bunn
When
other lips and other hearts - words by Alfred Bunn
Love
smiles but to deceive - words by Edward Fitzball
The
Maid of Honour (1847): In this old chair my father sat -
words by Edward Fitzball (sample track)
Satanella
(1858): Our hearts are not our own - words by Augustus Harris
and Edmund Falconer
The
Talisman (1870) No sweeter bud than thou - words
by Arthur Matthison
Stars
of the summer night (1857) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Goodnight,
Beloved (1855) - words by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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