Real and Right and True

Australian composer Calvin Bowman’s beautiful pieces are awash with the idioms of English song, from the wistfulness of Ivor Gurney in “The Rainbow” to the biting wit of Warlock in “West Sussex Drinking Song" and, in the salty “Three Sea Songs”, Stanford’s halcyon zest for naval life. Bowman’s songs speak directly, their music stunningly—and often very simply—illuminating some of the English language’s most potent lines, whether they be A. E. Housman’s ode to the soft peace of death or Hilaire Belloc’s salute to the dawn. Every song is given a sensitive, deeply touching performance from a superb array of singers and pianists.