Originally released as part of The English Song Series on the Collins Classics label, this recording explores the vocal works of one of the pioneers of English Song. Arthur Somervell was the first composer to set Housman’s The Shropshire Lad. His setting of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence shows his ease at composing for children, while his familiarity today rests on his setting of Tennyson’s Maud. The ingenuity of Somervell’s piano writing combined with his remarkably memorable vocal lines has ensured that his music retains a consistent freshnes.