There are no real booklet notes for this 2025 release by the mezzo-soprano
Helen Charlston
, but there is a conversation between
Charlston
and soprano
Emma Kirkby
, and this is actually clever. Reading it over (the physical CD is recommended here), one will recall that
Kirkby
made several recordings of songs from
Purcell
's theatrical output, and then, listening to the present recording, one will be pleasantly unprepared for how different
's readings are.
is gaining a great deal of attention, and this album landed on classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2025. Listeners are drawn by how she goes in a new direction with
, almost avoiding beauty of tone in favor of the text and the story. Most of her program is made up of recitative and arioso numbers, with just a few quicker pieces and instrumental numbers from the
Sounds Baroque Trio
(who, it must be said, are ideally in tune with
's rather deliberate approach) to break up a long sequence of dramatic statements. There is no "When I am laid in earth" here, nor any of the other big
hits, although most of the material is well enough known. Listeners have the advantage these days of being able to sample and see if they like what is being done here, but
is different enough to be worth checking out. The
BIS
label records her at the All Saints' Church in East Finchley, London, which adds a funereal tone to the proceedings and doesn't match the theatrical nature of the music. ~ James Manheim