Christopher Guild - William Wordsworth: Complete Music for Solo Piano (2023)

The reputation of the Anglo-Scottish composer William Wordsworth (1908–88), great-great-grandnephew of the poet, has recently been restored by a series of Toccata Classics albums of his orchestral music. His piano music, too, was poorly known before now, none of it recorded since a handful of pieces appeared on LP 60 years ago – though his epic Piano Sonata is a work of major importance. This first ever complete recording reveals an honest, unfussy approach to the keyboard akin to that of two other major symphonists, Sibelius and Rubbra: like them, Wordsworth’s primary concern seems to have been the expression of deep feeling – which makes the gentle story-telling of his miniatures for children all the more surprising.
Tracklist
01. Piano Sonata in D minor, Op. 13: I. Maestoso
02. Piano Sonata in D minor, Op. 13: II. Largamente e calmato –
03. Piano Sonata in D minor, Op. 13: III. Allegro molto – Poco adagio – Tempo I
04. Three Pieces for Piano: No. 1, Prelude
05. Three Pieces for Piano: No. 2, Scherzo
06. Three Pieces for Piano: No. 3, Rhapsody
07. Cheesecombe Suite, Op. 27: I. Prelude
08. Cheesecombe Suite, Op. 27: II. Scherzo
09. Cheesecombe Suite, Op. 27: III. Nocturne
10. Cheesecombe Suite, Op. 27: IV. Fughetta
11. Ballade, Op. 41
12. A Tale of Long Ago
13. March of the Giants
14. Ding Dong Bell
15. Snowflakes
16. Fireside Story
17. Bedtime (Six o’Clock)
18. Bedtime Story
19. Hornpipe
20. Valediction, Op. 82