Christine Brewer Triumphs

Incredible live recording from an amazing voice.

Composer: Wagner, Wolf, Britten and Carter
Repertoire: Songs by Wagner, Wolf, Britten and Carter
Artists: Christine Brewer (soprano), Roger Vignoles (piano)

Rating: 5/5

Genre: Vocal
Label: Wigmore Hall Live WHL022

Christine Brewer, the woman who restores the heart to that all too often emotionally calculating breed of artist called the ‘American Soprano’, opened the present Wigmore Hall season in September with this eloquent, gloriously natural and expressively honest recital. Brewer’s voice has the ideal warmth and lyrical fluidity for Wagner’s Wesendonck Songs. It also comes with the control to shift effortlessly from wistful introspection to impassioned protest, conditions exquisitely applied to ‘Schmerzen’ and Britten’s ‘Funeral Blues’, the composer’s heart-melting cabaret-song setting of Auden’s ‘Stop all the clocks’. Pianist Roger Vignoles contributes poetic imagination, subtle shading and searching artistry to each song. Wonderful stuff.