Eugène Goossens; Arthur Bliss; Herbert Howells - Songs (James Geer; Ronald Woodley)

Information

Composer: Eugène Goossens; Arthur Bliss; Herbert Howells

• Goossens - Chamber Music
• Bliss - Three Songs
• Howells - Here She Lies, A Pretty Bud
• Howells - Longing
• Howells - O Garlands, Hanging by the Doors
• Goossens - A Memory of the Players in a Mirror at Midnight
• Bliss - Simples
• Howells - Flood
• Goossens - Four Songs
• Bliss - Three Romantic Songs
• Bliss - Sailing or Flying?
• Bliss - Tulips
• Howells - Four Songs, Op. 22: III. The Widow Bird
• Howells - The Little Boy Lost
• Howells - A Garland de la Mare: The Lady Caroline
• Howells - Lethe
• Goossens - When Thou Art Dead

James Geer, tenor

Ronald Woodley, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Resonus Classics

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In the years preceding the First World War, the Royal College of Music in London was home to three distinguished young composers—Eugene Goossens, Arthur Bliss, and Herbert Howells—who later developed notably distinct musical identities despite their close friendship. This recording explores their individual styles through a curated selection of rarely performed solo songs, including four world premiere recordings and three previously unpublished works. Performed by tenor James Geer and pianist Ronald Woodley, the disc continues their established artistic collaboration. The programme highlights the early creative voices of these composers, offering insight into their emerging musical languages and the expressive range of early 20th-century British art song.

James Geer is a British tenor with a strong background in collegiate, operatic, and concert performance. Educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he served as an Academical Clerk, he continued his training at leading UK conservatoires including the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. A Samling Scholar and Britten-Pears Young Artist, he has appeared as a soloist at major venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall, and at prominent UK festivals. He has sung with leading orchestras and maintained long-standing associations with ensembles including the Glyndebourne Chorus, Academy of Ancient Music, and Capella Cracoviensis. Geer is also an active recitalist, particularly in partnership with pianist Ronald Woodley, with whom he has recorded and performed widely acclaimed programmes of art song repertoire.

Ronald Woodley is a pianist, clarinettist, and musicologist whose career spans both performance and academic research. Formerly Professor of Music and Director of Research at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and previously holding posts at several UK conservatoires and universities, he is now Emeritus Professor focused on recording and scholarly projects. Trained initially as a clarinettist at the Royal Northern College of Music and later completing a doctorate at Oxford, he maintains an active performance profile, particularly in contemporary music and chamber collaborations. Woodley has premiered and recorded numerous new works and is also an internationally recognised scholar of late medieval music theory. He is especially noted for his long-standing partnership with tenor James Geer in recordings and recitals of British song repertoire.

High Resolution 24-bit / 192 kHz