Rebecca Clarke (1886–1979) wrote vocal chamber music over the whole of her career, from Wandrers Nachtlied, her first completed composition, in 1903, through her overhaul of Lethe, in the winter of 1976–77. Taken together, her songs and duets constitute one of the greatest and most distinctive contributions to the vocal repertoire of the twentieth century.
Much of Clarke’s vocal music has been recorded, but the present album brings it all together under one roof, including a complete survey of the early songs (only Tears was previously recorded), and first recordings of Weep You No More, Sad Fountains, in its original solo version, and the epic Binnorie: A Ballad. It would take a sizable monograph even to begin to lay out the riches in these works, or to sketch their histories. Luckily, Clarke’s work speaks so powerfully for itself that only a few bits of background information may be necessary:
“This beautifully recorded anthology is a must for any lover of English song” – Limelight Editors pick January 2026
“One of the year’s best, without a shadow of a doubt” – Gramophone
★★★★ – “The performers are persuasive, with Whately in particular on superb form, her voice laser-focused and glowing.” – The Guardian
CD 1
[1] Greeting
[2] Shy One
[3] A Dream
[4] The Cloths of Heaven
[5] One That Is Ever Kind “The Folly of Being Comforted”
[6] Down by the Salley Gardens (Version for Violin)
[7] June Twilight
[8] The Seal Man
[9] Oh, Dreaming World
[10] Up-hill
[11] Sleep
[12] Spirits
[13] Shiv, Who Poured the Harvest “Shiv and the Grasshopper”
[14] Chanson
Three Old English Songs:
[15] I. It was a Lover and his Lass
[16] II. Phillis on the new made Hay
[17] III. The Tailor and the Mouse
[18] Vor der Türe schlft der Baum
[19] Du
[20] Oh Welt
[21] Nach einem Regen
[22] Vergissmeinnicht
[23] Das Ideal
[24] The Cherry-Blossom Wand
[25] The Donkey
[26] The Aspidistra
[27] Ah for the Red Spring Rose
[28] God Made a Tree
CD 2
[1] Binnorie: A Ballad
[2] Weep You No More, Sad Fountains
[3] Come, Oh Come, My Life’s Delight
[4] A Psalm of David, When He Was in the Wilderness of Judah
[5] Magna est veritas
[6] Take, O Take Those Lips Away
[7] Cradle Song
[8] Infant Joy
[9] Tiger, Tiger (Revised Version)
[10] Eight O’Clock
[11] The Moving Finger Writes
[12] Lethe
[13] Return of Spring
[14] Tears
[15] The Color of Life
[16] Klage
[17] Manche Nacht
[18] Aufblick
[19] Durch die Nacht
[20] Wandrers Nachtlied
[21] Stimme im Dunkeln
[22] Nacht für Nacht
[23] Daybreak
[24] Down by the Salley Gardens (Version for Piano)
Three Irish Country Songs
[25] I. I know my love
[26] II. I know where I’m goin’
[27] III. As I was going to Ballynure
