News

Revealing another side to Stephen Dodgson – a passionate army historian who was published in the Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research.

We're delighted to announced the forthcoming publication of Born by the Thames: Stephen Dodgson – A Centenary Celebration – out on 17th March.

The 'piece is packed full of word painting' and 'was so much fun to sing' and for several audience members it was 'their favourite piece in the programme'. Emma Warren describes discovering and performing Stephen Dodgson’s 'The Running Carol' and 'Falan-Tiding' with her choir Inchant.

We're delighted to announce the release of Vol. 2 of Stephen Dodgson's solo songs: The Distances Between. The album includes 17 first recordings and marks the 10th anniversary of his death, performed by Ailish Tynan, Katie Bray, Marcus Farnsworth, Christopher Glynn, Mark Eden and Ian Wilson.

This is a triumph for Somm and, for all those who wish to seek out of the way English song, this is for you.

25-year-old Singaporean guitarist Kevin Loh has won second prize at the renowned Guitar Foundation of America's 'International Concert Artist Competition' in New York with a superb performance including Stephen Dodgson's Fantasy Divisions.

Mark Eden's guitar provides the recording’s ear-catching opening with the Four Poems of John Clare [sung by] James Gilchrist... Elsewhere, pianist Christopher Glynn adroitly elicits the diverse character of each song, emphatic and unruly in Irishry, yet inscrutably supporting soprano Ailish Tynan’s sublimely ethereal ‘Psyche’ from Tideways... Roderick Williams is typically captivating in the storytelling of the Bush Ballads... These approachable, sometimes quirky vignettes could hardly have better advocates.

An excellent aspect of this disc is that we have a wide variety of star-studded voices adding interest throughout with the guitar (for which Dodgson was brilliant at writing) and recorder. In all there are 26 songs here and that includes five cycles and these are, attractively, divided between the voices. The texts stretch from light verse through Gerard Manley Hopkins and Walter de la Mare. In the accompanying essays, Dodgson’s style and language is neatly summed up as ‘a tonal-based inspiration and a natural creative communicative desire’, although Matthew-Walker does add that Dodgson clearly has his own personal voice. And, one must agree with him that Dodgson has been ‘unfairly neglected’.

The album’s title is owed to Stephen Dodgson, eight delightful vignettes, beautifully crafted, which fall on grateful ears. Throughout, Emma Abbate and Julian Perkins play as one, with dedication and shared pleasure.