Long Time Ago

The young mezzo-soprano Adèle Charvet has already attracted attention in the opera house, but she is also passionately interested in the song repertory. For her first album, she has devised a very personal programme, deriving in part from her musical partnership and friendship with the pianist Susan Manoff. Both of them have drawn on their New York childhoods. 'Long Time Ago weaves together the threads of our lives', says Susan. Adèle continues 'The musical journey is immense, from the central repertory of American music - Barber, Copland, Ives - to cabaret songs (Heggie, Bolcom), with a detour by way of England: Britten, Vaughan Williams . . . For example, Jake Heggie's Amor describes the journey across the city of a faux-naïf sex maniac. The police, the ice cream vendor, the gospel choir all shout "AMOR!" when they see him. Samuel Barber's Solitary Hotel is like an Edward Hopper painting in music; Aaron Copland's At the River invites pilgrims to the church meeting: "Yes, we'll gather at the river..." The programme unfolds like a wheel, a cycle that traverses the cardinal points of a life.'

"Much of it is beautifully done. Charvet has a warm, appealing mezzo, with a tangy lower register and fine dynamic control at the top. She's at her best in jazz-inflected or declamatory numbers...Manoff, as one might expect, is consistently stylish and wonderfully insightful throughout." - Gramophone