The Mountain Bride

Edvard Grieg already had the renowned Piano Concerto and Sigurd Jorsalfar behind him when he was commissioned to write incidental music for a staged version of Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt. This resulted in some of Grieg’s most famous music, from the Norwegian trolls and hobgoblins of In the Hall of the Mountain King to the movingly simple Solveig’s Song. The suite From Holberg’s Time takes us back to Baroque style and traditions with irresistible melodic charm. Wedding Day at Troldhaugen was a wedding anniversary present for Nina, Grieg’s wife, and the sprightly Norwegian Dances are a precursor to the larger-scale Symphonic Dances (available on VOX-NX-3038CD). These classic VOX recordings by Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony Orchestra were originally issued in 1976 and have been newly remastered from the original tapes. The Elite Recordings for VOX by legendary producers Marc Aubort and Joanna Nickrenz are considered by audiophiles to be amongst the finest sounding examples of orchestral recordings.

Maddy Prior, Jacqui McShee, and June Tabor all give her a run for her money, but the late Sandy Denny remains the pre-eminent British folk-rock singer. In addition to recording several albums of her own, Denny was an integral force behind the best work of the most respected British folk-rock band of all, Fairport Convention, and also contributed mightily to recordings by the Strawbs and Fotheringay. It's impossible for words to fully evoke the haunting, spectral presence of her powerful and penetrating alto voice, which seemed to bring the mythology of English moors and folktales to life in contemporary, 20th century settings.