Sphinx Hamish McLaren & Matthew Jorysz

• Boris Tchaikovsky (1925 - 1996): From Kipling:
• 1 Tchaikovsky: From Kipling: No. 1, The Distant Amazon 03:13
• 2 Tchaikovsky: From Kipling: No. 2, Homer 04:22
• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): 2 Romances on Verses by Lermontov, Op. 84:
• 3 Shostakovich: 2 Romances on Verses by Lermontov, Op. 84: No. 1, Morning in the Caucasus 03:16
• 4 Shostakovich: 2 Romances on Verses by Lermontov, Op. 84: No. 2, Ballad 06:20
• Alexander Borodin (1833 - 1887):
• 5 Borodin: My Songs Are Full of Poison 01:14
• 6 Borodin: Songs & Romances: No. 13, For the Distant Shores of Your Native Country 04:06
• Sergei Taneyev (1856 - 1915):
• 7 Taneyev: 5 Poems, Op. 33: No. 1, Night in the Mountains of Scotland 03:41
• 8 Taneyev: 10 Poems, Op. 26: No. 6, Stalactites 04:23
• Boris Tchaikovsky: 2 Poems by Lermontov:
• 9 Tchaikovsky: 2 Poems by Lermontov: No. 1, Autumn 02:30
• 10 Tchaikovsky: 2 Poems by Lermontov: No. 2, The Pine 02:03
• Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881 - 1950):
• 11 Myaskovsky: The Days of Youth, Op. 2 (Excerpts): No. 8, The Albatross 03:31
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100:
• 12 Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 1, Farewell, Granada! 03:10
• 13 Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 2, The Little Stars 02:00
• 14 Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 3, The First Meeting 03:53
• 15 Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 4, Ronda 01:57
• 16 Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 5, The Dark-Eyed Girl 02:48
• 17 Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 6, Dream 02:36
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100:
• 18 Shostakovich: Desdemona's Romance 04:14
• 19 Shostakovich: A Pointless Gift, a Chance Gift 02:51
• Elena Firsova (b. 1950): 2 Songs to Poems by Boris Pasternak:
• 20 Firsova: 2 Songs to Poems by Boris Pasternak: No. 1, The Wind 02:20
• 21 Firsova: 2 Songs to Poems by Boris Pasternak: No. 2, Twilight 02:28
• Nikolai Myaskovsky:
• 22 Myaskovsky: The Days of Youth, Op. 2 (Excerpts): No. 11, The Sphinx 04:40
• Elena Firsova:
• 23 Firsova: Winter Elegy, Op. 91 04:51
• Total Runtime 01:16:27

Info for Sphinx

Russia’s rich tradition of art song began with early 19th-century salon pieces: lyrical ‘romances’ that evolved to embrace grander themes yet never lost their intimacy. This selection explores some fascinating but less-trodden paths through this repertoire, inspired by the theme of distant lands and encompassing the enduring themes of travel, romantic landscapes, love and loss, life and death. In this recital, Borodin meets Taneyev, a Moscow composition professor from the next generation; Shostakovich stands alongside another major symphonist, his Moscow colleague Myaskovsky, and Shostakovich’s student Boris Tchaikovsky, a prodigy widely known for his film music, passes the baton to Elena Firsova, a post-Soviet émigré to England and a distinctive lyrical voice of today. Inspired by the songs of Taneyev, Myaskovksy and Firsova, countertenor Hamish McLaren embarked on distant travels of his own, journeying to Russia where he found two previously unreleased film songs by Shostakovich, heard here in their world-premiere recordings.

Hamish McLaren, counter-tenor
Matthew Jorysz, piano
Nathalie Green-Buckley, viola

No biography found.

Booklet for Sphinx