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Go, Lovely Rose – Songs of Roger Quilter

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Go, Lovely Rose

GO, LOVELY ROSE – SONGS OF ROGER QUILTER

JAMES GILCHRIST (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)

 

Born in Sussex in 1877, Roger Quilter was a fellow-student of Percy Grainger, Cyril Scott, and H. Balfour Gardiner at the Hoch Conservatory, in Frankfurt, where he studied for almost five years under the guidance of the German professor of composition Iwan Knorr.
He is best known for his contribution to English art song, having composed around 150 songs, many of which remain regular recital favourites.
For this album, the tenor James Gilchrist and pianist Anna Tilbrook explore his output from early works such as ‘Now sleeps the crimson petal’ through to late examples such as ‘The Ash Grove’. All of the songs are settings of English texts, with the exception of the Four Songs of Mirza Schaffy, which set German texts by Friedrich von Bodenstedt.
The musicians have arranged their selection of twenty-seven songs into thematic groups – Shakespeare songs, songs about flowers, folksongs, songs of love etc. – which makes for a fascinating and rewarding programme.

 

Available from Chandos, Amazon and Spotify.

 

 

A Gardener’s World

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A Gardener's World

A GARDENER’S WORLD

ALESSANDRO FISHER (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)

 

During the period of lockdown in 2020, tenor Alessandro Fisher and his wife spent many hours in their garden. A heightened awareness of the beauty of nature, the flowers in their garden and the changes to the garden as winter moved to spring, and then to summer formed the basis of this beautifully curated recital.

All the songs are about flowers, the language of flowers, and flowers as a tokens of love. Above all, the album is about the way songs of the many composers on this album reference deep human emotions and the role of flowers in these emotions.

Where words fail, the language of flowers and nature take over. Nature regenerates, life continues, though for some composers, the short- lived glory of flowers is also an allegory for loss, or indeed the transience of romantic love.

This live recording was made by BBC Radio 3 at the Wigmore Hall in London. Alessandro was the recipient of a BBT Fellowship in 2022.

 

Gramophone Magazine review and Editor’s Choice – March 2024
“I’d suggest that not since Martin Isepp accompanied Janet Baker… has a British singer made a more auspicious recital debut on record.”

“..the modulations and rubato acutely judged by Fisher’s pianist, Anna Tilbrook.”

 

Available on Spotify and Apple Music.

 

 

Longing

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Longing

LONGING

LUCY CROWE (SOPRANO), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)

 

Lucy Crowe makes her Linn recital debut with a programme of lieder by Berg, Richard Strauss and Schoenberg, which perfectly highlights why she is known as one of the leading lyric sopranos of her generation.

Lucy is joined by pianist Anna Tilbrook, with whom she has forged a near symbiotic connection over a twenty-year professional partnership, comprising numerous performances at Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls, London, and Carnegie Hall, New York.

The programme encompasses both the beginning and end of Strauss’s prodigious songwriting career with five songs from his first published set Acht Gedichte aus Letzte Blätter plus his posthumously published swansong of sublime beauty, Vier letzte Lieder. Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder are landmark compositions which invoke the late Romantic world of Strauss; they sit alongside Vier Lieder by Berg’s mentor Schoenberg, whose post-Wagnerian chromaticism points to the composer’s later style. Following their Wigmore Hall performance in June 2020 The Guardian stated: ‘Berg’s Seven Early Songs suits Crowe uncommonly well, with her exquisite tone, fastidious sense of line, and understated but telling way with words.’

 

Available from Linn and Spotify.

 

 

Solitude

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Solitude

SOLITUDE

JAMES GILCHRIST (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)

 

James Gilchrist’s theme for this recital, Solitude, is reflected in varied and contrasting ways by the four works. In his booklet note, he describes solitude as ‘A state of being that we need, that perhaps we overlook too easily, that is harder to achieve and harder to endure and understand than we expect’.
Henry Purcell’s “O! Solitude, my sweetest choice” (in the arrangement by Benjamin Britten) focuses on twin themes of solitude: the peace found in the meditative state and the pain felt by being separated from loved ones.
Schubert’s “Einsamkeit” represents the importance of solitude as an important theme in the German romantic tradition: yearning for homeland, the lonely wanderer, and separated lovers appear again and again in the poetry, prose, and music of this era. In “Under Alter’d Skies”, Jonathan Dove explores the unwanted solitude of grief and loss. The cycle sets excerpts of “In Memoriam”, Alfred Lord Tennyson’s response to the sudden death of his friend Arthur Hallam.
The programme closes with Samuel Barber’s “Hermit Songs”, settings of the marginal jottings of mediaeval Irish monks as they copied or illuminated manuscripts. These extraordinary texts show the anonymous men, who chose a life of solitude and devotion to God, to be every bit as human as the rest of us!

 

Available from Chandos, Amazon and Spotify.

 

 

Vaughan Williams – Songs of Travel

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Vaughan Williams - Songs of Travel

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS – SONGS OF TRAVEL

JAMES GILCHRIST (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano), PHILIP DUKES (VIOLA)

 

Having previously recorded British repertoire on Chandos, James Gilchrist joins the pianist Anna Tilbrook nine years after their previous recording, in a lyrical journey through some of Vaughan Williams’s best songs and rarely heard chamber works. They are joined by Philip Dukes, ‘Great Britain’s most outstanding viola player’, according to The Times.

This album captures the composer’s love for both the voice and the viola, bringing together five works for tenor and piano, two for tenor, viola, and piano, and two works for viola and piano alone.

Central to the recording is the fresh, invigorating, and at times reflective cycle Songs of Travel, composed between 1901 and 1904, of special interest is also an arrangement of ‘Rhosymedre’ by the chief music critic of The Times, Richard Morrison, recorded here for the first time and performed by the same forces who gave the premiere of the arrangement in St John’s Smith Square in 2016, to critical acclaim.

Available from Chandos, Amazon, iTunes and Spotify.

 

 

Schumann – Song Cycles

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Schumann Song Cycles

SCHUMANN- SONG CYCLES

JAMES GILCHRIST (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)

 

James Gilchrist’s latest recording for Linn encompasses three of the greatest examples of the song cycle genre.

Moving away from English song into the core Germanic Lieder repertoire, James’s expressive tenor voice is ideally suited to showcase the emotional nuances of Schumann’s vocal writing. Liederkreis shows Schumann at his most lyrical and deeply romantic; incredibly Op. 24 was his first published vocal composition. Dichterliebe, Schumann’s best-known song cycle, is regarded as one of the finest in the German language, notable for its perfect pairing of Heinrich Heine’s poetry with Schumann’s music.

Available from Linn Records, Amazon or iTunes.

 

 

18 September – Music at Oxford

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Friday 18th September 2015, 7.30pm

St John the Evangelist Church, 109A Iffley Road, OX4 1EH

James Gilchrist (tenor) Anna Tilbrook (piano)

Schumann – Liederkreis Op.39
Mendelssohn – Lieder selection
Poulenc – Metamorphosen, Bleuet, C, Le Disparu
and songs by Vaughan Williams, Gurney, Bridge, Finzi and Quilter

 

www.musicatoxford.com
Box office: 01865 244806

20 August – Edinburgh Festival

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Edinburgh International Festival

Thursday 20th August, 11am

The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh EH8 9JG

James Gilchrist (tenor) Anna Tilbrook (piano)

Berkeley Five Chinese Songs Op 78
Britten Songs from the Chinese Op 58
Sally Beamish Four Songs from Hafez
Schubert ‘Ständchen’ from Schwanengesang
Dowland ‘In Darkness let me Dwell’ & ‘Come, heavy sleep’
Britten Nocturnal after John Dowland Op 70
Schumann Liederkreis Op 39

 

www.eif.co.uk/2015/gilchrist
Box office: 0131 473 2000

4 July – West Cork Chamber Music Festival

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West Cork Chamber Music Festival

Saturday 4th July, 8pm

Bantry House, N71, Bantry, Co. Cork

Maria Keohane and Katharine Dain (sopranos)
Dmitry Sitkovetsky and Chloë Hanslip (violins)
Lilli Maijala and Brett Dean (violas)
Natalie Clein and Marc Coppey (cellos)
Philippe Bernold and Fiona Kelly (flute)
Romain Guyot and Mathias Kjøller (clarinets)

with Anna Tilbrook (piano)

André Previn – Two Remembrances
Maurice Ravel – Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé
Johannes Brahms – String Sextet in B flat Op.18

 

Box office: +353 (0)27 52788/9

3 July – West Cork Chamber Music Festival

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West Cork Chamber Music Festival

Friday 3rd July, 4pm

St Brendan’s Church, Wolfe Tone Square, Bantry, Co. Cork

James Gilchrist (tenor) Gareth Hulse (oboe) Anna Tilbrook (piano) Vanbrugh and Signum Quartets

Ralph Vaughan Williams – Ten Blake Songs
Thomas Adès – Arcadiana
David Matthews – One Foot in Eden

 

Box office: +353 (0)27 52788/9

27 June – St John’s Smith Square Festival

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St John’s Smith Square Festival
A Poets’s Love – Schumann and Mendelssohn

Saturday 27th June

St John’s Smith Square, London

 

11.00am

James Gilchrist (tenor), Anna Tilbrook (piano) Ellie Fagg (violin) Louisa Tuck (cello)

Felix Mendelssohn – Lieder
Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Trio in D minor Op.49

 

1.05pm

Carolyn Sampson (soprano) James Gilchrist (tenor) Anna Tilbrook (piano)

Robert Schumann – Myrten Op.25

 

3.30pm

Carolyn Sampson (soprano) James Gilchrist (tenor) Louisa Tuck (cello) Anna Tilbrook (piano)

Robert Schumann – Tanzlied, In der Nacht (duets)
Robert Schumann – Jasminenstrauch, Die Blume der Ergebung, Schneeglöckchen, Meine Rose
Robert Schumann – Three Romances for Cello and Piano
Robert Schumann – Liederkreis Op.24

 

7.30pm

James Gilchrist (tenor) Anna Tilbrook (piano) Tom Norris, Ellie Fagg (violins), Philip Dukes (viola) Louisa Tuck (cello)

Robert Schumann – Adagio and Allegro Op.70
Robert Schumann – Fantasiestücke Op.12
Robert Schumann – Piano Quintet Op.44
Robert Schumann – Dichterliebe Op.48

 

www.sjss.org.uk/whats-on
Box office: 020 7222 1061

26 June – St John’s Smith Square Festival

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St John’s Smith Square Festival
A Poets’s Love – Schumann and Mendelssohn

Friday 26th June, 7.30pm

St John’s Smith Square, London

James Gilchrist (tenor) Anna Tilbrook (piano) Tom Norris, Ellie Fagg, Laurent Quenelle, Julia Rumley (violins) Philip Dukes, Fiona Winning (violas), Louisa Tuck (cello) Alix Scott (bass)

Robert Schumann – Piano Quartet Op.47
Robert Schumann – Liederkreis Op.39
Mendelsoohn – Octet Op.20

 

www.sjss.org.uk/whats-on
Box office: 020 7222 1061

Britten – My Beloved is Mine with James Gilchrist

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Britten - My Beloved is Mine

BRITTEN – MY BELOVED IS MINE

JAMES GILCHRIST (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)

 

The charismatic duo of James Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook continue their exploration of English Song in My Beloved is Mine. This new recording explores the song cycles of Benjamin Britten, including ‘On This Island’, ‘The Holy Sonnets of John Donne’, ‘Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo’ and ‘Canticle I ‘My Beloved is Mine”.

Available from Linn Records, Amazon or iTunes.

 

 

Concert with James Gilchrist – 7th March 2013

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Thursday 7th March, 2013, 7.30pm
Bushell Hall, Birkenhead School, Bidston Rd, Oxton CH43 2JD

James Gilchrist  (tenor), Anna Tilbrook (piano)

A centenary tribute to Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Songs by Britten, Purcell, Berkeley, Vaughan Williams, Warlock, Gurney, Bridge, concluding with Britten’s Winter Words

For more information, contact:
info@tworiversfestival.co.uk

Box office: 0151 651 3095

Tour with James Gilchrist, Anna Tilbrook and Puertas String Quartet, Feb 1,3,4 2013

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Friday 1st February 2013, 7.45pm
Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont St, Hexham, NE46 3LS
(01434 652477 www.queenshall.co.uk)

 

Sunday 3rd February 2013, 2.30pm
Kelso High School, Bowmont St, Kelso TD5 7EG
(info@kelsomusicsociety.com)

 

Monday 4th February 2013, 7.30pm
Ripon Cathedral
(01765 658071 www.riponconcerts.co.uk)

James Gilchrist (tenor), Anna Tilbrook (piano), Puertas String Quartet

Elgar: Piano Quintet
Vaughan WIlliams: On Wenlock Edge
Songs by Vaughan Williams, Quilter, Warlock, Gurney, Bridge

Concert with James Gilchrist – 11th Nov

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Sunday 11th November 2012, 3pm
The John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park

James Gilchrist (tenor), Anna Tilbrook (piano)

Music by Purcell, Britten, Berkeley, Finzi, Butterworth, Ireland

Presented by Norfolk & Norwich Chamber Music

For more information, contact:
Norfolk & Norwich Chamber Music, The John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park NR4 7UH
01603 628319    www.norwichchambermusic.co.uk

Two Moors Festival: concert with Caroline Macphie – 16th Oct

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Tuesday 16th October 2012, 1.30pm
All Saints’ Church, Okehampton

Caroline Macphie (soprano), Anna Tilbrook (piano)

The convergence of the twain: a recital to mark the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the “Titanic”.

Haydn: The Mermaid’s Song,
Head: The ships of Arcady
Britten: Seascape from On this island
Fauré: Au bord de l’eau, Les berceaux
Berlioz: I’ile inconnue
Bizet: Douce mer
Schubert: 3 songs
Poulenc: Les chemins de l’amour
Strauss: Mein Herz ist stumm
Handel: Farewell, ye limpid springs

Part of the Two Moors Festival

For more information, contact:
01643 831006    www.thetwomoorsfestival.com

Two Moors Festival: concert ‘Come into the parlour’ – 14th Oct

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Sunday 14th October 2012, 7.30pm
Widecombe-in-the-Moor church, Widecombe

Come into the parlour – a concert to celebrate Charles Dicken’s birth in 1812

Henry Russell: Mr Wardle’s Carol
Michael Balfe: Come into the Garden, Maude
Stanford: La belle dame sans merci
and many other delights

with Marcus Farnsworth (baritone) and Donald Maxwell (baritone)

Part of the Two Moors Festival

For more information, contact:
01643 831006    www.thetwomoorsfestival.com

Recital with Ekaterina Scherbachenko – 6th May

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Sunday 6th May 2012, 4pm
Wigmore Hall

Ekaterina Scherbachenko (soprano), Anna Tilbrook (piano)

Winner of Cardiff Singer of the World 2009,  Ekaterina Scherbachenko and Anna Tilbrook will be performing Romances by Tchaikovsky and Sviridov.

For more information, contact:
Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2BP
Box Office 020 7935 2141

Concert with Clare Langan (flute) – 19th April

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Thursday 19th April 2012, 7.30pm
The Oriental Club

Clare Langan (flute), Anna Tilbrook (piano)

Bach: Sonata in E major
Mozart: Andante in C
Mendelssohn: Rondo Capriccioso
Poulenc: Sonata for flute and piano
Martinu: Sonata for flute and piano
Debussy: Syrinx
Chaminade: Concertino

For more information, contact:
The Oriental Club, Stratford House, Stratford Place, London, W1C 1ES   

Die Schöne Müllerin

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SCHUBERT: DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN

SCHUBERT – DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN

JAMES GILCHRIST (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)

Die Schöne Müllerin (‘The Beautiful Maid of the Mill’), Schubert’s classic setting of poems by Wilhelm Müller is generally accepted to be a masterpiece of the song genre.

Editor’s Choice in Gramophone, November 2009

Available from Orchid Classics or from Amazon.

 

 

On Wenlock Edge

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On Wenlock Edge

ON WENLOCK EDGE

JAMES GILCHRIST (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)
with the Fitzwilliam String Quartet

A selection of early Twentieth Century masterpieces by great English composers. Songs by Vaughan Williams, Warlock, Bliss and Gurney.

Finalist Solo Vocal Album of the Year 2008 Classic FM Gramophone Awards

Available from Linn Records or from Amazon.

 

 

Jeffreys – The Far Country

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The Far Country

THE FAR COUNTRY

JAMES GILCHRIST (tenor), ANNA TILBROOK (piano)

Twenty six English Songs by John Jeffreys.

John Jeffreys (b.1927 – d.2010) was a British composer who specialised in music for solo voice. His songs, exemplified by this fine collection, are masterworks of the genre directly in the tradition inherited from Moeran, Delius, Finzi, and especially Warlock. Beautifully performed by James Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook these works are timeless and will have lasting appeal.

Available from Divine Art or from Amazon.