I came to Alfred Deller via modern-day countertenors Andreas Scholl, Michael Chance and James Bowman who all praised their famous predecessor. Out of curiosity I checked out some of his 1970s recordings with Robert Spencer but naturally the voice of man in his sixties was perhaps too stately for my introduction to his art - this 1955. recordings were made at the peak of his powers and not only Deller sounds magnificent but material is truly magical, kind of music one can imagine being played at the court of Elizabeth I.
The first impression is timeless beauty of these songs - we all know them, later often covered by folk singers from Joan Baez onwards, "Barbara Allen" and all those little stories set in poetry, "Greensleeves", "Waly, Waly" and even beautiful old "Coventry Carol" backed only with a discreet, gentle lute by Desmond Dupré but occasionally its just a voice itself creating magic. It has been re-released and re-packaged in many variations and no matter which one you find, its highly recommended collection. I found myself returning to this album time and time again, its truly soothes me and apparently I can't get enough of it.
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