A two-way deal

The phrase ‘English song’ is often met with suspicion, bringing with it a whiff of the morris dance, the come, follow follow and the hey nonny no — and the work of Roger Quilter, composing in the first half of the 20th century, is no exception to this reaction. However, for those with ears to hear and prejudices to shed, there are rare treasures to be  found when a new recording of his complete songs for solo voice and piano is released at the end of February, sung  by baritone Mark Stone, accompanied by the composer and conductor Stephen Barlow.

‘Quilter and I go back a long way,’ says Stone. ‘Three of his Shakespeare songs were some of the first things I ever learnt. I was a late starter as a singer, and when I went to music college it appeared to me that everyone knew considerably more about everything than I did; so I thought, “Right, nobody else seems to be interested in Roger Quilter.