Catalogue

Summary:

Following their acclaimed collaboration in Percy Grainger’s Folk Music (AV2372), soprano Claire Booth and pianist Christopher Glynn turn to the Lyric Music of Edvard Grieg, an apt sequel as the elder composer befriended Grainger – who idolised the Norwegian’s folkloric idiom – immediately on their first encounter in London in 1906. Interspersing intimate vocal miniatures with lyrical solo piano pieces, Claire and Christopher mirror many of the programmes that Grieg and his wife Nina performed on their many recital tours together. Each of the works on Lyric Music tells a story, as does the album as a whole, ranging in mood from bright, youthful innocence to shades of twilight. Sung in the original Norwegian, Claire’s and Christopher’s performances are as evocative as Norway’s varied landscape.

Critical acclaim

“Few singers alive can spin a yarn like Booth can, especially with her regular pianist Christopher Glynn. (Her) voice is a character that transfixes all by itself, presenting a bright, beguilingly androgynous, ageless image of the protagonist”. (‘Dramatic Choice’ of available recordings of Haugtussa, Gramophone February 2021)

Tracklist:

EDVARD GRIEG (1843–1907)

1. Den hvide, røde Rose EG137 (The White and Red Roses) (1.45)
2. Norwegisch from Lyric Pieces, Book I Op.12 (1.02)
3. Volkweise from Lyric Pieces, Book I Op.12 (1.28)
4. Mens jeg venter (On the Water) from Digte Op.60 (2.05)
5. Sylphe from Lyric Pieces, Book VII Op.62 1.34 (1.34)
6. Med en Vandlilje (With a Waterlily) Ibsensangene Op.25 (1.54)
7. Sommerfugl (Butterfly) from Lyric Pieces, Book III Op.43  (1.41)
8. Melodi from Lyric Pieces, Book IV Op.47 (3.11)
9. Prinsessen EG133 (The Princess) (2.31)
10. Dulgt Kjærlighed (Hidden Love) from Romancer Op.39 (2.06)
11. Hjemad from Lyric Pieces, Book VII Op.62 (3.10)

Haugtussa Op.67
12. I. Det Syng · The Enticement (3.20)
13. II. Veslemøy · The Young Girl (2.13)
14. III. Blåbaer-Li · Blueberry Slopes (2.52)
15. IV. Møte · The Tryst (3.41)
16. V. Elsk · Love (2.22)
17. VI. Killingdans · Little Goat’s Dance (1.47)
18. VII. Vond Dag · Hurtful Day (2.19)
19. VIII. Ved Gjætle-Bekken · At the Brook (6.04)

20. Drömmesyn (Phantom) from Lyric Pieces, Book VII Op.62 (2.33)
21. Jeg elsker Dig (I Love Only You) from Hjertets melodier Op.5 (1.18)
22. Når jeg vil dø (Autumn Farewell) from Elegiske Digte Op.59 (1.29)
23. Den Ærgjerrige (Ambition) from Fem Digte Op.26 (1.17)
24. Svundne dage (Vanished Days) from Lyric Pieces, Book VI Op.57 (6.35)
25. Ved en ung Hustrus Båre (At the Grave of a Young Wife) from Romancer Op.39 (4.17)
26. Klokkeklang (Bell Ringing) from Lyric Pieces, Book VI Op.54 (4.18)
27. Stambogsrim (Album Lines) from Ibsensangene Op.25 (1.46)
28. Arietta from Lyric Pieces, Book I Op.12 (1.17)

Total time: 71.59

Claire Booth soprano
Christopher Glynn piano (solo: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 20, 24, 26, 28)

Recorded: October & May 2019, Potton Hall, Suffolk
Producer: Jeremy Hayes · Engineer: Ben Connellan