The Blessed Damozel – Songs of Arnold Bax
Review by Ennio Caironi
Editor’s Note: This review is written by our Bax Society Italian Representative who recently adapted many of Bax’s songs for solo piano arrangements for Fand Music Press.
The Blessed Damozel (1906);
A Milking Sian (1907);
The White Peace (1907);
Shieling Song (1908);
To Eire (1910);
Roundel (1914);
Parting (1916);
Far in a Western Brookland (1918);
Folk-Tale for Cello & Piano (1918);
Jack and Jone (1918);
When I Was One-and-Twenty (1918);
The Market Girl (1922);
Rann of Exile (1922);
Rann of Wandering (1922);
I Heard a Soldier (1924);
In the Morning (1926);
On the Bridge (1926);
Watching the Needleboats at San Sabba (1931).
Jeremy Huw Williams (baritone), Paula Fan (piano), Theodore Buchholz (cello). EM Records EMR CD086
[Recorded in 2022, Jeff Haskell Recording Studio, University of Arizona]
The record label EM Records continues its commendable work in recording the songs of Sir Arnold Bax. The performers featured on this release had already devoted themselves to Bax’s vocal repertoire in 2022 with the album From the Hills of Dreams: The Forgotten Songs of Arnold Bax. The partnership of baritone Jeremy Huw Williams and pianist Paula Fan formed a close-knit duo that, in recent years, had recorded together a significant number of songs—either by lesser-known composers or of lesser-known works. In 2023 they released an album devoted to Peter Wishart’s vocal music, followed in 2024 by a collection of songs by Morten Lauridsen, and in 2025 by a recording of Hubert Parry’s songs. I speak of the duo in the past tense because, sadly, Paula Fan passed away on 23 February 2023. We are therefore considering artists who had long cultivated a deep musical affinity and who approached this repertoire not as casual executants but as thoughtful, committed interpreters. The very choice of the album’s title gives the first indication of this: The Blessed Damozel is a youthful vocal melodrama, among Bax’s least familiar works, and is presented here in its first-ever recording. Yet, despite the enthusiasm with which Bax enthusiasts welcome each new release devoted to their musical idol, this disc also reveals several problematic aspects.
Among the album’s strengths one must note the general precision in observing dynamic and tempo markings, as well as the sensitive handling of pauses (so crucial in Bax’s music!). It is clear that the duo devoted considerable care to studying these works—and likely to their rehearsals—for the songs are performed, allowing for some reservations discussed below, with fidelity to what is written in the score. This is by no means a negligible merit, even in today’s climate of greater awareness and respect for composers’ notational intentions.
The programme includes several musical rarities, such as Jack & Jone, an arrangement for voice and piano of a delightful and playful lute song by Thomas Campion (1613); a recording of the seldom-heard song On the Bridge; and the premiere recording of The Blessed Damozel. The latter is described as “A Musical Illustration for performance during the recital of D. G. Rossetti’s poem.” Unlike the other tracks, it is not sung but recited: the poetic text is read aloud over an uninterrupted piano part that unfolds as a single, expansive movement. It is unquestionably a demanding work of significant aesthetic value. One is struck by how mature Bax already was in 1906, embracing a Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic (also admired by Cyril Scott) that would find fuller realisation in later orchestral masterpieces such as Nympholept and Spring Fire, both inspired by the poetry of Swinburne. Testimonies from Clifford Bax, together with Arnold’s letters, reveal how the composer—under the influence of his teacher Frederick Corder—held in the highest regard music with recitation, considering it even superior to song. The piano part here does not merely illustrate the poem but delineates genuine spaces of sonic dramatisation. Nonetheless, the performance of so symbolic and mystical a text might have benefited from a more compelling and less flat delivery of the recitation.
Turning to the weaknesses of the production, some critical aspects had already been noted in the 2022 album, particularly concerning the recorded sound quality. The tracks are enveloped in excessive reverberation, with the unfortunate result of blurring and blending notes, thereby obscuring otherwise fine interpretations such as those of The White Peace, Far in a Western Brookland, and In the Morning. Especially at climactic moments, when piano and voice approach fortissimo, the sound collapses, preventing full enjoyment of these passages. Given the density and chromaticism of Bax’s piano writing, not only clarity and precision of execution but also a clean, transparent sound quality are indispensable to convey his shifting, complex harmonies to best effect.
There are also issues of vocal timbre: personally, I do not find Jeremy Huw Williams’s tone appealing. This, of course, is subjective, and it does not detract from the competence with which several songs are executed, but it does compromise the overall listening experience. Furthermore, there are some technical shortcomings, such as an excessive reliance on vibrato and difficulty sustaining high notes above E. These issues are evident, for instance, at bars 24–25 of Shieling Song, bars 23–24 of Roundel, and bar 24 of Rann of Exile.
As for interpretative choices, I harbour reservations about some of the tempi adopted by the duo. In A Milking Sian, despite Bax’s instruction “Molto tranquillo,” the tempo chosen is rather brisk—too fast, arguably, to bring out the sweet, innocent, rocking harmonies. Conversely, Roundel, marked “Moderate pace,” is taken at an excessively slow tempo, undermining the languor and passionate dynamic shifts (let us recall the song’s importance in the burgeoning love affair between Bax and Cohen). Similarly, Parting, marked “Moderate tempo,” is performed too slowly. The Market Girl, which might have allowed the baritone to display a playful, folk-tinged wit, is constrained by a slow tempo and scant use of staccato, limiting the irony implicit in the text. Even in the piano accompaniments, this predilection for relaxed tempi occasionally weakens the music’s passionate and romantic force, as in the interludes of Far in a Western Brookland and Rann of Exile, both marked “molto disperato.”
The disc also includes a creditable performance of Folk-Tale, well interpreted by cellist Theodore Buchholz with Paula Fan at the piano. Unfortunately, however, the compromised sound quality diminishes its impact. Beyond this, one may question the wisdom of including an instrumental chamber work on an album otherwise devoted to voice and piano, even if its rhapsodic tone loosely lends itself to a narrative interpretation.
In conclusion, while acknowledging the duo’s serious and knowledgeable effort to continue disseminating Bax’s songs, the acoustic shortcomings of the recording, together with certain interpretative reservations, incline me to recommend, for those wishing to appreciate Bax’s vocal repertoire at its best, the recordings found on CONTINUUM CCD1046 and DUTTON CDLX 7136. One hopes that The Blessed Damozel might in future be included on another disc, benefiting from improved sound quality.
The album is accompanied by a first-rate booklet, rich in information and featuring excellent musicological notes.