The “Songs of Solomons”
(ten songs for countertenor and piano)
are available on:
IndieMusic (digital downloads)
GroupieTunes (digital downloads)
The scores of these songs can be obtained in downloadable pdf format from
or in paper copy from
Reviews in the media
of the CD "Songs of Solomons"
Review by Philip Scowcroft:
in the September 2001 issue of the BMS [British Music Society] Newsletter [no. 91]
Review from the Manchester Evening News 17 August 2001
David W Solomons: Songs of Solomons
Stephen Taylor, countertenor, Jonathan Leonard, piano
(New Century Classics NCC2003, GBP 8).
MANCHESTER composer David Solomons has written a number of gentle, wistful songs
with lullaby like, harmonically slowly evolving piano accompaniments, which these
soloists perform with obvious affection.
I actually prefer the cheekier comic numbers, especially his reworking of a familiar
medieval lyric in a form suitable for hayfever sufferers: "Summer is i-
It could be a useful encore piece for recitalists.
The echoey acoustic of the Oxford college chapel, where the recording was made, serves the voice well, but not so much the piano.
Robert Beale
Review by Ian Milnes written on 20 May 2001 for the Dunelm website:
David W Solomons: The Songs of Solomons Stephen Taylor, countertenor, Jonathan Leonard,
piano NEW CENTURY CLASSICS NCC2003 (GBP 8.00) I had not heard any music by David
W Solomons before this CD arrived, yet I found all these ten songs immediately thoroughly
enjoyable, interesting and varied. Some are humorous, which make good contrasts with
the more serious (often moving) songs, thus producing a well-
Jim Pattison's recording is first-
The booklet is splendid, including the words of all the songs, and concise notes on the music, composer and performer, with their photographs.
Very highly recommended.
Ian Milnes.
Information on the reviewer Ian Milnes
Ian Milnes (b.1943) grew up in a musical family in Leeds. At the age of eleven he
took up the violin, and when thirteen he went on to the viola and began to compose.
He achieved Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Textiles at Leeds University but the
decline in this local, traditional industry led him to apply for the position of
Tutor-
In 1973, ill health forced him to resign his post there, and he became manager of
the book and score departments of Banks' music shop in York. He taught some music
and continued composing during this period. In 1979 he was appointed founding manager
of The Bookland Music Shop in Chester, and is currently a member of the staff there,
working on a part-
He has been composing for 43 years during which time -
Dunelm Records has compiled two CDs of his music, DRD0058 (mainly of historical interest) and DRD0059 of modern recordings of 15 of his works.
And here are some reactions from various other listeners:
Canon Albert Radcliffe of Manchester Cathedral writes:
Thank you very much indeed for the CD, which I have played and enjoyed greatly.
Its subleties deserve to sell well. And though to my ear there are fine and distant echoes of Elizabethan lute songs, may you be another Schubert!
Natalie Mayer writes (in the Countertenors group):
Howdy folks -
It's a selection of songs written by our own David Solomons and performed by Stephen Taylor (countertenor) and Jonathan Leonard (piano). I think it's particularly charming and wonderful, with some very lyrical bits (particularly Rose), some very danceable things in 7 beat meter, a song about hay fever, and other such delicacies. Let's all show our support for countertenors and new art song by getting our own personal copies of the CD.
Stephen Taylor has a very lovely voice, by the way, and is well worth listening to.
Direct all inquiries to David himself please, and tell him Natts sent ya
The Swallows is based on an Armenian poem by the late Gourgen Mahari translated by J R Russell.
The flight and fate of the swallows represents the diaspora of the Armenian people after the 1915 massacre.
The limping 7/4 accompaniment emphasises the fatigue of these long-
Habirando-
Mark's poems, in their natural beauty and simplicity, have inspired David to write many pieces over the years, but
this one is his favourite. It uses various Japanese modes in its short span -
but nevertheless effective.
Ludhe sing tishu is a spoof of the old English round "Sumer is i-
everywhere. The words are by the composer. The force of the scored sneezes is all part of the fun.
The Quiet Way you move me is a lullaby for the Baby Jesus, which appears in a play called "Barabbas" by Nevil Frenkiel,
whom the composer met at a poetry reading in Maida Vale. The original intention was for the song to be sung
unaccompanied by a soft soprano voice, but the melody inspired by the poem also gave birth to a host of different
accompanying harmonies, of which this is just one.
Lookin' just lookin' is a humorous look at the personal "lonely hearts" ads, although the composer invented the actual
adverts in this song, to avoid possible late-
The personalities advertising for the loves of their
lives in this song range in age from 24 to 92, they are all very genuine people, please don't hurt their feelings
as you snigger!
Rose is a setting of a poem by a Kurdish prisoner of conscience in Turkey (Iskan Acikca) translated into English
specially for this song. The story is long and complicated and can be found on the www.akakurdistan.com website
if you would like to know the details. The poet longs to be free so he can rejoin his love and simply cultivate
his garden. This, in its effective simplicity, is the composer's favourite composition.
Greek Wassail A Wassail in fast 7/4 rhythm, like a slightly drunk Greek dance. The words are by the composer
and very tongue in cheek, but with an overlay suggesting a critique of the less "culturally inclined" holidaymaker!
Dawn in the Room : in this song the bereaved lover gains some brief consolation at dawn when the blond light penetrates his room and reminds him of the hair of his beloved.
He (or she) imagines the spirit of the beloved
speaking to him and giving him strength, perhaps, to face another day.
The poem itself is a family production involving mother, father and composer. The title is deliberately ambiguous, because "Dawn" could also be the name of the departed lover.
The mode of this song is Dorian, the composer's favourite mode.
Invitation to the journey is a setting of the composer's father's translation of a poem by Baudelaire.
It endeavours to evoke the rocking peaceful boat on the inland waters and the wild imagination of the poet tamed to restfulness. The final line, which is always the same in French, is transmuted very effectively into three different angles of meaning in the translation.
Christmas Haikus is a setting of haikus by Canon Radcliffe, former canon of Manchester Cathedral, where the composer regularly sang. The views of Christmas in these haikus are theologically and poetically sophisticated and far removed from the usual "Xmas" celebrations in which many of us indulge.
The symbols of nature (and the final symbol of sacrifice) take on a meaning reminding us of the true message behind the Christian story.
The mode of this song is octatonic.
