I got this from the Museum of London, on the same visit as Favourite Wartime Songs. I had to tear the sealed cellophane wrapping off it just now to listen to it…
I think I thought this was an album of songs from Shakespeare plays. That is Songs from Shakespeare. It's not; it's Songs for Shakespeare, songs in and around and vaguely related to him and his work.
It does include Full Fathom Five and Where the Bee Sucks from The Tempest, though I read that these are credited not to Shakespeare but to Robert Johnson (the lutenist in James I's court, not that one). Also included in O Mistress Mine, one of the songs you sang as Feste. But sadly not The Rain it Raineth Every Day — your favourite, and mine.
I wish this CD had the kind of detailed sleevenotes that Nigeria 70 has, to explain the provenance of each of the songs. But the fact is that this is aimed at the tourist market, not the music fan. Just check the website of the record label to see how brazen they are.
I wish, too, that the performances were a little bit more like the ones that Shakespeare might have heard — or the ones tourists can hear today at the mostly wonderful Globe Theatre productions. But instead they are rather straight-laced, conservatory-bound renditions.
Still, I'm glad to have the CD. I like the way that apparent eccentricities like this, along with my spoken word recordings, round out my collection.
Buy the CD direct from the Museum of London
Buy from Eurocosm UK (page includes full CD credits and notes)
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