Adagietto | Benjamin Britten - The Ash Grove (English Folk Songs) | Ian Bostridge, Julius Drake @Adagietto | Uploaded December 2013 | Updated October 2024, 2 hours ago.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) - The Ash Grove, for voice & piano (English Folk Songs, arrangement Vol. 1)
Ian Bostridge, tenor. Julius Drake, piano. Virgin/EMI Classics.
Other arr.: Greensleves - youtu.be/vWDc-gE7CR8

Down yonder green valley, where streamlets meander,
When twilight is fading I pensively rove
Or at the bright noontide in solitude wander,
Amid the dark shades of the lonely ash grove;
'T was there, while the blackbird was cheerfully singing,
I first met that dear one, the joy of my heart!
Around us for gladness the bluebells were ringing,
Ah! then little thought I how soon we should part.
Still glows the bright sunshine o'er valley and mountain,
Still warbles the blackbird its note from the tree;
Still trembles the moonbeam on streamlet and fountain,
But what are the beauties of nature to me?
With sorrow, deep sorrow, my bosom is laden,
All day I go mourning in search of my love;
Ye echoes, oh, tell me, where is the sweet maiden?
"She sleeps, 'neath the green turf down by the ash grove."

The Ash Grove (Welsh: Llwyn Onn) is a traditional Welsh folk song whose melody has been set to numerous sets of lyrics. The best-known version was written in English by John Oxenford in the 19th century.

The first published version of the tune was in 1802 in "The Bardic Museum". The book was written by Edward Jones, a harpist. About 4 years later a version with words appeared, under the name "Llwyn Onn". It tells of a sailor's love for "Gwen of Llwyn". At the end of the song, Gwen unfortunately passes away, and in one version of the piece, the writer talks about him mourning and that she is lying " 'neath the shades of the lonely ash grove". The tune might be much older, as a similar tune appears in "The Beggar's Opera" by John Gay (1728), in the song "Cease Your Funning". In 1922, however Kidson claimed that John Gay's tune derives from the morris dance tune "Constant Billy", which is first known in Playford's "Dancing Master".


The highly-acclaimed Mr. Bostridge possesses what is undoubtedly one of the beautiful instruments on the classical scene, his ethereal lyric tenor lending itself especially well to Benjamin Britten and the Baroque repertoire. Mr. Bostridge, who was a post-doctoral fellow in history at Oxford before embarking on a singing career, has gained fame performing roles such as Quint in Britten's The Turn of the Screw at the Royal Opera House and Tom Rakewell in The Rake's Progress at the Bayerische Staatsoper, having recorded on over 18 albums along the way.
The Observer