Visions Illuminées Mary Bevan & 12 Ensemble

• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924): 2 Mélodies, Op. 46:
• 1 Fauré: 2 Mélodies, Op. 46: II. Clair de lune 03:00
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Les Illuminations, Op. 18:
• 2 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: I. Fanfare 02:08
• 3 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: II. Villes 02:31
• 4 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: IIIa. Phrase 01:08
• 5 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: IIIb. Antique 02:13
• 6 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: IV. Royauté 01:41
• 7 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: V. Marine 01:03
• 8 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: VI. Interlude 02:32
• 9 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: VII. Being beauteous 04:16
• 10 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: VIII. Parade 02:52
• 11 Britten: Les Illuminations, Op. 18: IX. Départ 02:37
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): I. Les grands vents venus d’outre-mer (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Ensemble by Robin Holloway):
• 12 Ravel: I. Les grands vents venus d’outre-mer (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Ensemble by Robin Holloway) 02:54
• II. Un grand sommeil noir (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Ensemble by Robin Holloway):
• 13 Ravel: II. Un grand sommeil noir (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Ensemble by Robin Holloway) 05:02
• Si morne (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Ensemble by Robin Holloway):
• 14 Ravel: Si morne (Arr. for Soprano, Piano & Ensemble by Robin Holloway) 04:46
• Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933): Chanson Triste:
• 15 Duparc: Chanson Triste 03:52
• Emmanuel Chabrier (1841 - 1894): Tes yeux bleus:
• 16 Chabrier: Tes yeux bleus 04:38
• Ernest Chausson (1855 - 1899): Chanson perpétuelle, Op. 37:
• 17 Chausson: Chanson perpétuelle, Op. 37 07:00
• Claude Debussy (1847 - 1903): Trois mélodies de Verlaine, L. 85:
• 18 Debussy: Trois mélodies de Verlaine, L. 85: I. La mer est plus belle (Arr. for Soprano and Piano Quintet by Robin Holloway) 02:43
• Mandoline, L. 43 (Arr. for Soprano and Piano Quintet by Robin Holloway):
• 19 Debussy: Mandoline, L. 43 (Arr. for Soprano and Piano Quintet by Robin Holloway) 01:36
• Trois mélodies de Verlaine, L. 85:
• 20 Debussy: Trois mélodies de Verlaine, L. 85: II. Le son du cor s’afflige (Arr. for Soprano and Piano Quintet by Robin Holloway) 02:54
• 21 Debussy: Trois mélodies de Verlaine, L. 85: III. L’échelonnement des haies (Arr. for Soprano and Piano Quintet by Robin Holloway) 01:37
• Augusta Holmés (1847 - 1903): Sérénades:
• 22 Holmés: Sérénades: I. Sérénade printanière 02:34
• 23 Holmés: Sérénades: II. Sérénade d’Été 02:44
• 24 Holmés: Sérénades: III. Sérénade d’Automne 02:02
• 25 Holmés: Sérénades: IV. Sérénade d’Hiver 02:05
• 26 Holmés: Sérénades: V. Sérénade de toujours 02:19
• Total Runtime 01:14:47

Info for Visions Illuminées

Her third recital album on Signum Records, celebrated soprano Mary Bevan returns with a selection of French songs, featuring works by composers including Britten, Ravel, Debussy and Faure.

“Over the years since the release of my debut album ‘Voyages’ with Joseph Middleton in 2017, my passion for French mélodie has grown and deepened...

“The texts that composers of mélodie have set to music contain a depth and a mystery that I find fascinating and a source of repeated inspiration...

“My idea for the album began simply with a desire to record Britten’s ‘Les Illuminations’, a work I feel closely connected to, having performed it many times over the years and each time having found something new in it to interest me” (Mary Bevan)

Mary Bevan, soprano
John Middleton, piano
Ruisi Quartet
12 ensemble

Mary Bevan
Praised by Opera for her “dramatic wit and vocal control”, British soprano Mary Bevan is internationally renowned in baroque, classical and contemporary repertoire, and appears regularly with leading conductors, orchestras and ensembles around the world. She is a winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Young Artist award and UK Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent in music and was awarded a MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list in 2019.

Bevan’s engagements for the 2022/23 season include a return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Morgana in a new Richard Jones production of Alcina that will be conducted by Christian Curnyn, LIGHT: Bach Dances with the Hofesh Shechter Company at the Philharmonie de Paris, her debut with the Bayerische Staatsoper singing the title role of La Calisto, and a return to La Fenice, Venice as Eurydice in Gluck Orfeo and Eurydice. Further ahead she will make her debut with the Zurich Opera House.

Last season, Bevan’s many concert appearances included Haydn The Creation at the Barbican Hall with the Academy of Ancient Music, Belinda and First Witch Dido & Aeneas with the Early Opera Company at St John’s Smith Square, a European tour of Handel Messiah with the Kammerorchester Basel, Handel Theresienmesse with the Handel and Haydn Society and Bach Mass in B minor with the Philhamonia Baroque Orchestra. Further highlights include recitals at Wigmore Hall and the Lammermuir, Osafestivalen and Oxford Lieder festivals. During the 2020/21 season she returned to Royal Danish Opera for her role debut as Marzelline Fidelio and for the production LIGHT: Bach Dances with director John Fuljames and conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen and made her debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in David Alden’s production of Ariodante as Dalinda; in concert she sang the world premiere of Sir James MacMillan Christmas Oratorio at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and A.Bliss Rout with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Opera highlights of previous seasons include Rose Maurrant in Weill’s Street Scene for Opera de Monte Carlo and Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld for English National Opera, her debut with the Danish Opera debut as Bellezza in Il Trionfo del tempo e del desinganno, the title role in Turnage’s new opera Coraline for the Royal Opera at the Barbican, her return to the English National Opera as Zerlina Don Giovanni, and her debut as Merab Saul for the Adelaide Festival. For the Royal Opera House she created the role of Lila in David Bruce The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, performed the title role in Rossi’s Orpheus at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, and sang Barbarina Le nozze di Figaro on the main stage. In concert she performed with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla and the CBSO in the world premiere of Roxanna Panufnik’s Faithful Journey, Mary in Sally Beamish The Judas Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Bach Christmas Oratorio on tour in Australia with the Choir of London and Australian Chamber Orchestra, and Messiah with the Academy of Ancient Music. With The English Concert, she appeared in their tour of Asia (Harry Bicket) and made her Carnegie Hall debut as Dalinda in Ariodante, and she has also performed with the BBC Concert (BBC Proms) and BBC Symphony orchestras.

Bevan’s discography includes her art song album Voyages with pianist Joseph Middleton and Handel's Queens with London Early Opera, both released by Signum Records, Mendelssohn songs for Champs Hill Records, Handel: The Triumph of Time and Truth and Handel: Ode for St Cecilia’s Day with Ludus Baroque, and Vaughan Williams Symphony No.3 and Schubert Rosamunde with the BBC Philharmonic. In autumn 2019 Signum released her second disc with Joseph Middleton including Lieder by Schubert, Haydn and Wolf.

Booklet for Visions Illuminées