New Arnold Bax songs CD

[eschiss1]

EM Records has announced for 15 August 2025 according to Presto Music a new recording of Bax songs, including the premiere recording of his large (25-minute) setting (1906) of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's poem The Blessed Damozel (which is also the title of the disc). Looks like an interesting disc. The folk-tale for cello and piano is also included.

Incidental note: It's not clear whether this setting, No. 84 in Parlett's catalog, has even been published. (Ah... Arnoldbax.com confirms: "Blessed Damozel, The (D. G. Rossetti) (1906). Unpublished. Privately owned.")
Tangentially, besides publishing a work catalog, the Parletts published not-yet-published Bax manuscripts under their own firm, Fand Music Press, I see from Worldcat.
Edit 2: Lieder.net lists the Bax as one of 2 "Recitations" Bax composed in 1906, so it may be a work for speaker and piano, rather than a sung work. "Described by Bax as "a musical illustration", with a recitation of the poem set to piano accompaniment, this work gives us a remarkable flavour of how Bax may have improvised in the company of his friends and contemporaries." Unfortunately the sample at Presto stops before the vocal entrance, so if 24-odd minutes of recitation is a deal-breaker (out of, an 82-minute disc with  one other world premiere), that is a matter of personal judgment!

[Alan Howe]

The CD's a nice idea from the point of view of repertoire, but the excerpts at Presto reveal two problems: first, the recording is way too reverberant for a song recital, and second (and I speak purely personally) Jeremy Huw Williams' voice is unsteady and frayed. I think this may be a missed opportunity, sad though I am to say so.

[eschiss1]

Ah. That is unfortunate!

[Reverie]

Agreed Alan - the reverb is ridiculous. I'm a big lover of Arnold's music -  this is such a shame.