BBC Proms
2018
Charles Villiers Stanford: Songs of the Sea (Last Night of the Proms)
18 minutes
Songs of the Sea, performed by Gerald Finley, is a cycle of five songs to poems by Henry Newbolt, which Stanford composed for the distinguished baritone Harry Plunket Greene, to be premiered at the 1904 Leeds Festival. The late critic Geoffrey Crankshaw wrote that 'Newbolt was particularly drawn to England's naval traditions and to the lure of the sea in general. His imagery was uncomplicated and his language bracing - just the right material for Stanford's down-to-earth honesty of vision.' The five songs are: Drake's Drum, Outward Bound, Devon, O Devon, in Wind and Rain, Homeward Bound and The Old Superb. Show less