Britten's Five Canticles at the Wigmore Hall

By Emily Owen, 07 December 2012

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Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 30 November 2012

Britten, Canticle I, My beloved is mine, for soprano or tenor and piano, Op.40

Britten, Canticle II, Abraham and Isaac, Chester miracle play, Op.51

Britten, Canticle V, The Death of Saint Narcissus, for tenor and harp, Op.89

Britten, Canticle IV, The Journey of the Magi, for countertenor, tenor, baritone and piano, Op.86

Britten, Canticle III, Still Falls the Rain, for tenor, horn and piano, Op.55

Iestyn Davies, Countertenor

Mark Padmore, Tenor

Marcus Farnsworth, Baritone

Julius Drake, Piano

Lucy Wakeford, Harp

Richard Watkins, French horn

Bumpy love songs from Roderick Williams and Julius Drake at PCMS

Cameron Kelsall, 12th February

A fully produced performance of Brahms' Die schӧne Magelone in Philadelphia, complete with on-stage narrator and bespoke drawings, proved less than the sum of its parts.

**111

Fauré Song Gala a showcase for the composer's mélodies

Mark Valencia, 13th September

Fauré was the finest of French songwriters. Stéphane Degout and Véronique Gens shine in a full-length evening in a packed Wigmore Hall.

****1

Gerald Finley and Julius Drake bring Night and Day to London

Mark Valencia, 24th November

Heinrich Heine settings by Schumann and Schubert are counter-balanced by Duparc and Cole Porter in a Temple Song recital reflecting on night and day.

*****

A scorching Diary of One Who Disappeared at Janáček Brno Festival

Gianmarco Segato, 12th November

Tenor Nicky Spence and mezzo Václava Krejčí Housková thrill with a theatrical take on Janáček's The Diary of One Who Disappeared with pianist Julius Drake.

****1

Alice Coote and Stuart Jackson bring Mahler to Middle Temple Hall

Mark Valencia, 11th November

Pianist Julius Drake and his two singers probe the audience’s collective soul with the depth of their Mahler performances.

*****

An intense Winterreise from Fleur Barron and Julius Drake

Edward Sava-Segal, 27th February

A young mezzo and a seasoned pianist performed a rendition of Winterreise that sounded very fresh indeed.

***11

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Emily Owen

A postgraduate student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama specialising in early music, Emily Owen is a freelance soprano, singing with numerous ensembles. She deputises in churches around London and also manages the newly formed London Youth Choir. Her website is here.