Artistic Finzi from a perfect partnership

Roderick Williams and Iain Burnside tell the poignant story of war in this compelling musical performance.

Composer: Finzi
Repertoire: Finzi songs
Artists: Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano)
Rating: 4/5 
Genre: Vocal
Label: Naxos 8.557644

Flanders’ killing fields accounted for the deaths of Finzi’s father and his first music teacher, their futile sacrifice profoundly affecting the composer’s world-view. Roderick Williams and Iain Burnside expose the pain of loss carried by many of Finzi’s songs. Their partnership blends refined musicality with a shared love of words, delivering compelling results in the Hardy settings of I Said to Love and, above all, the Wessex poet’s Channel Firing. A high level of artistic quality at a giveaway price.