PETER DAWSON: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION (2 CD)

Peter Dawson was born in Adelaide, Australia in 1882 and had a singing career that lasted almost 60 years, including, incredibly, an entry in the Guinness Book of Records in 1984 as one of the Top Ten singers of all time on disc, alongside such illustrious company as Elvis and Caruso!! He gained worldwide renown through song recitals and his numerous top selling recordings of operatic arias, oratorio solos and rousing manly ballads! Dawson’s instantly recognisable bass-baritone voice with its dark timbre and smooth legato was honed under the tutelage of famed Victorian baritone Sir Charles Santley between 1903-1907. He was given a thorough training in voice production and instilled with a meticulous understanding of the great oratorios, particularly Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Haydn’s The Creation. In the first decade of the new century Dawson regularly attended the Covent Garden theatre where he heard many of the great voices of the era including Titta Ruffo, Pasquale Amato, Mattia Battistini (a particular influence) and the basses Marcel Journet and Pol Plancon. He also came to admire not only French and Italian opera but also the works of the great German composer Richard Wagner. However his lively personality and ribald sense of humour meant he did not feel comfortable in the rigid confines of the operatic world and instead opted for a career in concert and oratorio work. “I consider myself as a singer of the people “ Peter Dawson’s description of himself was indeed apt and he remains one of the last centuries finest troubadours enjoying widespread and popular appeal.This re-mastered double CD celebrates the art and versatility of this unique Australian performer with recordings made between the mid 1920’s and the late 1930’s. The first programme devotes itself to Favourite Songs and Ballads and features many of his most famous recordings, whilst the second concentrates on Oratorio, Opera and Leider, plus a selection recalling some fine moments from our great British musical heritage. CD1FAVOURITE SONGS AND BALLADS1. The Floral Dance2. The Veteran’s Song3. The Gay Highway4. The Song Of The Flea5. When The Sergeant Major’s On Parade6. A Bachelor Gay7. Waiata Poi8. The Village Blacksmith9. The Old Brigade10. The Bandolero11. Oh, Better Far To Live And Die12. The Fisherman Of England13. The Miner’s Dream Of Home14. Phil The Fluter’s Ball15. We’d Be Far Better Off In A Home16. Simon The Cellarer17. Old Father Thames18. The Trumpeter19. A Jovial Monk Am I20. Boots21. If Those Lips Could Only Speak22. Somewhere A Voice Is Calling23. Waltzing Matilda24. I’ll Walk Beside YouCD21-8: Oratorio, Opera & Lieder1. Honour And Arms2. I Rage, I Melt, I Burn... O Ruddier Than The Cherry3. Now Your Days Of Philandering Are Over4. The Erlking, D.3285. Sirs, Your Toast6. Travellers All Of Every Station7. The Sparks Fly Through The Smithy Door8. Hey! For The Town’s Factotum9-21: Elgar, Stanford, Vaughan Williams, Coleridge-Taylor & Bantock9. But Rome And All Her Legions… Leap, Leap To Light10. O My Warriors11. Speak. Music! Op41, No.212. Drake’s Drum13. Outward Bound14. Devon, O Devon, In Wind And Rain15. Homeward Bound16. The ‘Old Superb’17. The Vagabond18. The Little Admiral19. Fare Well20. Sons Of The Sea21. Captain Harry Morgan22-23: Two ‘Encores’22. On The Road To Mandalay23. Bless This House