INTERNATIONAL RECORD REVIEW:
Although belonging to a much younger generation, John Jeffreys (b.1927) could, on stylistic and aesthetic grounds, be counted among the great songwriters of the second English Renaissance – composers like Quilter, Gurney, Ireland, Finzi and Warlock. Jeffreys even follows Warlock’s scholarly interest in the Elizabethan lute song, having published a scholarly “memoir”, as the booklet notes have it, of Philip Rosseter. An important point: like both Rosseter and his friend Thomas Campion, Jeffreys places the intelligibility of the texts above all else. Like theirs (and Finzi’s), his settings are largely syllabic. His sparse, evanescent accompaniments are incredibly evocative and his melodies have a folk-like simplicity that nevertheless releases the fragrant depths of his chosen texts with a seemingly effortless grace.

The selection on this present disc, many of which are recorded here for the first time, spans more than 50 years and features a wide variety of poets. It is organised into six distinct section. ‘Songs of Love’ include a setting of Barry Duane Hill’s enigmatic The Song of Love and (Herrick’s) Passing By, while ‘Settings of Ivor Gurney’ feature a wistful version of Severn Meadows which compares very favourably with Gurney’s. ‘Sacred Texts’ has as it’s a centrepiece Joseph Campbell’s wonderful I am the Gilly of Christ. Jeffreys then goes head to head with Quliter in ‘Settings of Shakespeare’ with a superb O Mistress Mine before the watercolour sketches of ‘Evocations of place and nature’ (here, Wilfred Wilson Gibson’s Black Stitchel and Yeats’s Salley Gardenstake pride of place, the ghost of Gurney just audible in both). She is ever for the new and Jillian of Berry bring the recital to ‘A Jolly End’.

These settings are beautifully realized by tenor James Gilchrist, who has completely mastered the art of chiaroscuro and legato singing without sacrificing clarity of diction. Do you remember his Finzi recital for Linn Records? Here’s more of the same. Anna Tilbrook is, as always, a sympathetic accompanist. Booklet notes by Peter Palmer discuss Jeffreys’s influences and provide commentaries on each song; valuable biographical information (including the fact that, while in the throes of depression, Jeffreys destroyed many of his works, only to painstakingly recompose them once his depression lifted) is also included.

Some might find the overall tone of this disc rather sombre, but I for one incline to wards the melancholy and so found yet another reason for thinking John Jeffreys a true Elizabethan (II) master.
Robert Levett

AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE:
The compositions of John Jeffreys (b.1927) are mainly songs for voice and piano, and of the songs heard on this recording the most recently composed was written in 1981. Eight of the 26 songs are recorded here for the first time. Most of them are in the style of Warlock, Ireland, Vaughan Williams, and Finzi – and they are worthy of comparison to those much better-known composers. Jeffreys picked good texts by Shakespeare, Gurney, Housman, Yeats and some lesser-known poets. The first set of seven songs, Songs of Love , all present gentle, lilting melodies that have a certain sameness to them; but others show a sharper edge and a more strident tonal language. He has an exceptional ability to create a variety of musical expressions that fit the words.

If you are not familiar with Jeffreys and if you like 20 th Century English songs, you will not want to pass this up. Even if you're not familiar with that literature, Gilchrist's voice will win you over. One of the leading English tenors of our time, Gilchrist has a light lyric voice that will remind you of Martyn Hill of Andrew Kennedy – and he's almost as good as them. His voice has a gentleness, warmth and sweetness that is just right for these songs; and his enunciation is impeccable.

His primary [sic... piano?] accompanist, Anna Tilbrook, proves to be an admirable artist as well. Some of these songs were recorded in 1997 by Ian Partridge with his sister Jennifer for Meridian, but neither the recorded sound nor the performance is as good as this. Good notes and texts are supplied.
R Moore

MUSICWEB:
What felicity it is to hear a tune again which has made me happy.”

(Jane Austen ‘Emma’)

It is, of course, fashionable at present to quote Jane Austen – but it is appropriate here; music was ‘an innocent diversion’ in her life and writings. Among her music books at Chawton names like Stephen Storace, Charles Dibdin, Arne, Shield, Linley and other songsters appear. It is not inconceivable that, had Jane inhabited a 20 th century drawing room, the name of John Jeffreys would feature amongst the music. His is a gentle voice – reflective – flowing as serenely as the Severn on the covering booklet - although the occasional song in this collection might disturb the waters as does the bore.

This is the fifth disc of Jeffreys’ songs – most of which were resurrected from oblivion in the 1960s before which he destroyed almost all his work. And on this collection there are eight given a first performance. Jeffreys’ music like that of Warlock bridges the Elizabethan and the early 20 th Century – setting such 17 th century lyrics as ‘Passing By’ and ‘Jillian of Berry’ as well as Shakespeare, Gurney, Wilfrid Wilson Gibson and other ‘Georgians’ yet retaining a uniquely individual voice. So acute is his sensitivity to the poems, that he has set several twice, thrice and even four times.

This is music for a quiet evening – in contemplation of some of the less complex emotions aroused by things fine and beautiful – all beautifully sung by James Gilchrist with Anna Tilbrook accompanying.
Colin Scott-Sutherland

ALBION MAGAZINE:
John Jeffreys is in that unrivalled English school of song composition that included Warlock, Moeran, Ireland, Delius, and Finzi, amongst others. In f act, his songs so thoroughly inhabit their sound world that on this disc his version of Passing By is not terribly different from Warlock's setting, and Horror Follows Horror sounds like a pastiche of Finzi. The songs are on the whole delightful, if rather samey; a little more variety within Jeffreys's songs themselves would have been appreciated, as well as some stronger signs of an individual voice. James Gilchrist is the splendid soloist on this disc, his excellent diction and great beauty of tone demonstrated in a wide range of moods, from the power and intensity of I Am the Gilly of Christ to the crooning tenderness of O my Dere Heart.
Em Marshall

GRAMOPHONE:
Not ‘fashionable’ perhaps, but a composer sensitive both to words and music. John Jeffreys’ 80th birthday falls this year. He has the music of the older generations (Ireland, Gurney, Finzi) in his veins, and has his own distinctive individuality. With a few exceptions – almost startling in context – Jeffrey’s songs move at an even, untroubled pace, vocal lines and piano accompaniment modestly simple, though not unfeeling and not banal. Musically, there would seem a conviction that there is still material to harvest quite naturally from the ground that fed his predecessors. In feeling ( this one can only hazard), there is a sense of sympathy with those shadowy yearnings and joys (no doubt known well enough to them inwardly) of poets long out of fashion, biding their time, perhaps, till the scornful generations have passed.

The elders were not men of fashion either. With Housman and Hardy so high in their literary affections, they were not “modern”, yet they caught so surely a flavour of their time, an underlying sadness (and a latent passion) conditioned by the Great Warof 1914. Remarkable, too, that Housman should so unerringly have anticipated it.

The programme includes eight first recordings . Tenor James Gilchrist has a warm voice, and has the support of a fine pianist.
John Steane  (nb this was a joint review of two songs CDs which has been edited to include only comments relevant to this disc.)