In the latter years of the nineteenth century, England was at its apogee as an imperial power and, as every Englishmen at the time knew, the foundation of that power was the royal navy. In those days, a land army was a fine thing for European wars, but you couldn't beat a navy for projecting imperial power -- and nobody could beat the royal navy. An Irish Protestant of English lineage, composer Charles Villiers Stanford deeply appreciated the royal navy -- who else could bring an English army across the Irish Sea to put ...
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In the latter years of the nineteenth century, England was at its apogee as an imperial power and, as every Englishmen at the time knew, the foundation of that power was the royal navy. In those days, a land army was a fine thing for European wars, but you couldn't beat a navy for projecting imperial power -- and nobody could beat the royal navy. An Irish Protestant of English lineage, composer Charles Villiers Stanford deeply appreciated the royal navy -- who else could bring an English army across the Irish Sea to put down the an Catholic rebellions? -- and his three most popular choral-orchestral works amply prove the sincerity of his appreciation. Written in a style that recalls Brahms at his most harmonically conservative and Verdi at his most rhetorically bombastic -- think of Brahms' Triumphlied fused with Verdi's Requiem and you'll have some idea what to expect -- Stanford's The Revenge: A Ballade of the Fleet, Songs of the Sea, and Songs of the Fleet are simple, direct, and straightforward...
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![Stanford: The Revenge; Songs of the Sea; Songs of the Fleet [Hybird SACD] - Gerald Finley (baritone); BBC National Chorus of Wales (choir, chorus); BBC National Orchestra of Wales;...](https://www4.alibris-static.com/stanford-the-revenge-songs-of-the-sea-songs-of-the-fleet-hybird-sacd/cover/m21297ep2zd_l.jpg)
![Stanford: The Revenge; Songs of the Sea; Songs of the Fleet [Hybird SACD]](https://www3.alibris-static.com/stanford-the-revenge-songs-of-the-sea-songs-of-the-fleet-hybird-sacd/cover/m21297ep2zd.jpg)
