Over Flanders Fields

The Italian AltrOck label has extremely high musical standards, and Humble Grumble, one of their latest signings as of early 2011, display this in spades. On the evidence of their label debut, Flanders Fields, Humble Grumble can do practically anything. The question is whether doing quite so much is a good idea. First, make no mistake, although wacky, this is a group of astoundingly accomplished musicians. Theoretically at least, some portion of the public should enjoy listening to what such musicians can do when operating at the peak of their powers, as they are here. And in the rock music world, wackiness shouldn’t count against them either.

The centenary of the outbreak of the first world war has already been marked by two outstanding albums – Robb Johnson's Gentle Men and the Show of Hands collaboration with Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton – and now comes a double album from Barry Coope, Jim Boyes and Lester Simpson, a trio of exhilarating a cappella singers who have done more than most to express the horrors of the conflict in their songs, and have been involved in a series of war-related projects, including concerts on former battlefields. The 50 tracks here include new and old recordings of wartime songs and their own compositions, with occasional piano work from Belinda O'Hooley and vocals from June Tabor on the atmospheric Shule Agra. But they are equally powerful on their own, with magnificent, stirring harmony work on the cheerfully bitter Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire or Jim Boyes' bleak lament, Hill 60.

The Journey Home: Live from the Kennedy Center. Inspired by the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, the concert, which sold-out at the time, explores timeless themes of longing, loss, love, and the search for peace in the wake of catastrophe. Musical selections range from Schubert's Der Wanderer, to Vaughan Williams' Songs of Travel, as well as popular tunes and art songs by composers and poets who died in the war. The concert is performed by Grammy Award winning baritone, John Brancy, and pianist (and host of NPR’s From the Top), Peter Dugan in a 2018 live performance from the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. The concert was presented by Vocal Arts DC and the General Delegation of Flanders to the United States. Brancy and Dugan will also release a single and music video from their performance of, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” from the album.