‘O Fair to See’

Continuing our collaborative concert series with Oxford Lieder, this next instalment sees Helen Charlston, a thrilling young mezzo-soprano, recently described by Gramophone Magazine as ‘mesmerising’ and by the Daily Telegraph as ‘warmly distinctive’ take the stage. She recently made an astonishing reimagining of the video of Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’ using ‘Dido’s Lament’ by Purcell (see it here) with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and her new CD Isolation Songbook has been widely acclaimed.

She and Sholto Kynoch begin with a group of songs by Clara Schumann, a set of exquisitely crafted masterpieces. Following this, they include songs by Johannes Brahms (who was infatuated with Clara Schumann) that perfectly demonstrate his great gift for melody aligned with his sensitive word-setting. At the centre of their programme is a cycle by that great master of English song, Gerald Finzi’s O Fair to See, that includes settings of Hardy, Rossetti, Gurney and others. They also include songs by Britten and Clarke. As always, Helen and Sholto will introduce this wonderful programme.