Ashley Riches – The Harmonious Echo: Songs by Sir Arthur Sullivan (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Although most widely remembered for his operettas in partnership with W.S. Gilbert, Sir Arthur Sullivan was the most famous of all British composers of the nineteenth century. He was revered as a composer of oratorios, and was urged by Queen Victoria to compose a grand opera. The result, Ivanhoe, achieved 155 consecutive performances (in an opera house especially built for it). Achieving equal success in his lifetime, his substantial legacy of songs fell into neglect in the twentieth century, but as this album demonstrates Sullivans endlessly fertile melodic gifts withstand comparison with those of any other song composer. David Owen Norris and his quartet of outstanding young British singers deliver this fascinating programme with terrific style and panache.

Tracklist:
01. Ashley Riches – No. 2, King Henry’s Song (Arr. for 4 Voices & Piano) (02:26)
02. Mary Bevan – No. 3, I Have Slept Beneath the Water (Arr. for Voice & Piano) (03:25)
03. Ben Johnson – I Heard the Nightingale (02:59)
04. Mary Bevan – Over the Roof (Arr. for Voice & Piano) (03:08)
05. Kitty Whately – Will He Come? (04:05)
06. Mary Bevan – Give (04:56)
07. Kitty Whately – Thou Art Weary (05:07)
08. Ben Johnson – The Moon in Silent Brightness (02:27)
09. Kitty Whately – O Fair Dove, O Fond Dove (04:35)
10. Ben Johnson – The Snow Lies White (03:11)
11. Ashley Riches – Looking Back (04:34)
12. Ashley Riches – Looking Forward (06:32)
13. Ben Johnson – The Maiden’s Story (04:19)
14. Kitty Whately – Living Poems (03:42)
15. Mary Bevan – The Sailor’s Grave (05:04)
16. Kitty Whately – Let Me Dream Again (04:57)
17. Ashley Riches – Other Days (03:11)
18. Ben Johnson – Little Maid of Arcadee (Arr. for Voice & Piano) (02:54)
19. Kitty Whately – The Distant Shore (04:32)
20. Ben Johnson – The Love That Loves Me Not (03:14)
21. Ben Johnson – A Shadow (03:58)
22. Kitty Whately – The Lost Chord (04:23)
23. Ashley Riches – The Absent-Minded Beggar (Arr. for 4 Voices & Piano) (05:44)