Quintessentially English ?

Another new BBC Music magazine cover cd, this one going under the title Visions Of England and featuring music by Vaughan Williams, Delius, Butterworth and Finzi. Largely familiar fare presented in decent enough performances and hanging together quite well as a programme without being in any way essential. The disk commences with Delius's orchestral setting of the folk tune Brigg Fair played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis, quintessential English pastoralism but more to do with the source material than with Delius. There follows song settings of the verse of A E Houseman by respectively Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth. The VW is On Wenlock Edge sung by tenor Andrew Kennedy accomnpanied by the Royal String Quartet and pianist Simon Crawford-Phillips, while the Butterworth settings are also from A Shropshire Lad sung by baritone Jonathan Lemalu accompanied by pianist Iain Burnside. Both of these suites seem to be rights of passage for any rising English ( or English speaking ) singer. The disk concludes with a collection of Finzi orchestral songs Let Us Garlands Bring, also sung by Lemalu with The BBCSO under conductor Jac van Steen. Finzi isnb't exactly neglected but is perhaps under performed when compared with the other works on this disk. He does not suffer in any comparison that might be made.