This month I will be singing a programme of Renaissance and Baroque music with the Laudantes Consort. We are providing a musical framework for an exhibition of photographs by Robert Hupka of Michelangelo’s Pietà at the church of the St. Dominic’s International Priory in Brussels. The central theme of our musical programme is the Stabat […]
The famous French baritone, Pierre Bernac, who performed with Poulenc himself at the piano, called ‘Hôtel’ from Banalités the laziest song ever written : [audio:https://penelopeturner.com/wp-content/2008/09/hotel-by-francis-poulenc-live-recording-230408.mp3] Banalités is a collection of five poems by Guillaume Apollinaire, set to music by Francis Poulenc. Poulenc was a meticulous composer who remained intrinsically faithful to the poems he set. He met Apolliniare […]
Samuel Barber, probably best known for his meltingly beautiful Adagio for Strings, also wrote many wonderful works for voice and piano. Among these treasures is the song cycle “Despite and Still”. On my audio clips page you will find two songs from this cycle recorded live (nothing added, nothing taken away…) with pianist and composer Andrew Wise at […]
