No Enemy But Winter and Rough Weather is the sixth album in The Shakespeare Concert Series, of which Joseph Summer is founder and executive director. A selection of Summer's works appear on this release, along with a number of other composers...

No Enemy But Winter and Rough Weather opens with Joseph Summer's 'Concert Overture for Piano', followed by two settings of 'Under the Greenwood Tree'. The first is by William Walton performed by soprano Kathryn Guthrie and pianist John McGinn, followed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold's setting of the text performed by Kim and mezzo-soprano Thea Lobo. 'Dirge' (Dominic Argento) and 'Death Be Not Proud' (Donald Busarow) are highlights from the classic Elizabethan Songs.

Over the course of this album's 16 tracks (1 hr, 04 min, 37 sec) Peter Warlock's 'Sleep' was my personal favourite track. Kellie Van Horn (mezzo soprano) turns this into a hauntingly beautiful track.

While I did enjoy it, by the end I was starting to think "Enough of Shakespeare's 'It was a lover and his lass', already!" There's only so many "With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino" that one can take without it starting to grate.

Opera fans will get much out of this, as will scholars of Shakespeare.

Track listing:

Joseph Summer
01 - Concert Overture for Piano
SangYoung Kim (piano)

William Walton
02 - Under the greenwood tree
Kathryn Guthrie (soprano), John McGinn (piano)

Erich Wolfgang Korngold
03 - Under the greenwood tree
Thea Lobo mezzo (soprano). SangYoung Kim (piano)

Erich Wolfgang Korngold
04 - When do birds do sing
Kathryn Guthrie (soprano), SangYoung Kim (piano)

Thomas Morley
05 - It was a lover and his lass
Luke Grooms (tenor), Ian Watson (harpsichord)

Peter Warlock
06 - Sleep
Kellie Van Horn (mezzo soprano), Arcadia Players

Thomas Arne
07 - Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Paul Soper (baritone), Ian Watson (harpsichord)

Erich Wolfgang Korngold
08 - Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thea Lobo (mezzo soprano), SangYoung Kim (piano)

Dominic Argento
09 - Winter
Luke Grooms (tenor), Arcadia Players

Dominic Argento
10 - Dirge
Andrea Chenoweth (soprano), Arcadia Players

Donald Busarow
11 - Death be not proud
Kathryn Guthrie (soprano), Kevin Owen (French horn), SangYoung Kim (piano)

Joseph Summer
12 - Sonnet LX
David Salsbery Fry (bass), Victor Cayres (piano)

Joseph Summer
13 - O! that this too too solid flesh
Neal Ferreira (tenor), SangYoung Kim (piano)

Joseph Summer
14 Beseech you sir, be merry The Shakespeare Concerts Ensemble Jeremiah Johnson (Antonio) baritone James Maddalena (Alonso) baritone Ethan Bremner (Sebastian) tenor Katherine Pracht (Ariel) mezzo soprano

Joseph Summer
15 - The quality of mercy
Thea Lobo (mezzo-soprano), SangYoung Kim (piano)

Joseph Summer
16 - When that I was and a little tiny boy
Luke Grooms (tenor), Arcadia Players

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Darren Rea