Mark Wilde, Lucy Wakeford, David Owen Norris - Britten: Complete Scottish Songs (2011)

This album featuring tenor Mark Wilde contains all of Britten's music with Scottish roots, including his original settings of texts by Scots authors like Robert Burns and William Soutar as well as his arrangements of folk songs. A Birthday Hansel, using Burns' poetry, was written for Queen Elizabeth's 75th birthday in 1976 and was his last song cycle. Britten scored it for tenor and harp, citing the authenticity of harp accompaniment in the Highlands tradition. The harp provides transitions between the songs, so the cycle is musically continuous. Who are these children? is also a late work, dating from 1969 with texts by Soutar, a mid-20th century poet. The album concludes with Colin Matthews' effective arrangements of four of the Burns songs with piano accompaniment. Wilde has a pleasant voice but his vowels aren't bright, and their somewhat covered quality sometimes comes across as slightly nasal. This tendency is especially noticeable in the most melismatic passages, such as "My Early Walk" from A Birthday Hansel, where a single vowel can be strung out for quite a while. He excels in bringing sharp characterization to the songs, which these pieces -- art songs with roots in folk culture -- require in order not to sound precious. He is also effective in singing with unmannered naturalness. Pianist David Owen Norris and harpist Lucy Wakeford provide sensitive accompaniments. Naxos' sound is clean, present, and well-balanced.