CD Reviews (The Straits Times, August 2012)

STRAVINSKY The Firebird / Orchestral Arrangements

Bergen Philharmonic / ANDREW LITTON

BIS SACD-1874 / ****1/2

The music of Igor Stravinsky’s first ballet, The Firebird, is usually enjoyed at concerts in the form of its short 1919 Suite, which lasts some 20 minutes. The complete ballet, a rarity because of the massive orchestral forces employed, plays for over twice as long. It is an extremely colourful score, much in the style of Stravinsky’s teacher Rimsky-Korsakov, with its Russian fairy-tale story of a hero, princesses and ogres vividly characterised. In this sumptuous recording, the dances truly come to life aided by excellent woodwind and brass, culminating in the ferocious Infernal Dance and glorious final apotheosis.

The value of this disc lies in its unusual fillers. Instead of another ballet, Stravinsky’s rarely heard orchestrations of music by Tchaikovsky (Bluebird Pas de deux from Sleeping Beauty), Sibelius (Canzonetta) and Chopin (a nocturne and a waltz) are offered. True to form, Stravinsky’s ingenious play with sound textures assures quirks aplenty. The biggest surprise is reserved for the minute-long Birthday Greeting, an outlandish distortion of the children’s Happy Birthday party song which plays down the melody but magnifies the accompaniment. Have fun in this musical “hall of mirrors”.

BEETHOVEN FOR ALL

DANIEL BARENBOIM, Piano & Conductor

Decca 478 3513 (2 CDs) / **1/2

Anyone who has gone through the triumphs and vicissitudes of life will identify with the life-affirming music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). He was Everyman personified, dogged by unrequited love and deafness, yet invigorated by his ideals of liberty, egalitarianism and the brotherhood of man. This double-disc is a sampler of his complete symphonies, piano concertos and piano sonatas (to be issued on 18 discs in three box-sets) as interpreted by Daniel Barenboim, surely one of great Beethovenians of our age.

Six of the nine symphonies, four of the five piano concertos and three sonatas (out of 32) are represented. Despite the fine performances, the sequence of disembodied movements selected does the music scant justice. There is neither chronological order nor programming intelligence in place. For example, the lovely Adagio slow movement of the Emperor Concerto does not fade off when it should but continues with the linking passage as if launching into the Rondo finale. Then the listener is assailed with the Rondo of the First Piano Concerto instead! Surely Barenboim could not have been party to this insult. Clearly this is Beethoven For Dummies. It is far better to get the full sets instead (and probably Decca’s intention as well).

CHAMBER.SOUNDS IN CONCERT 2012 / Review

CHAMBER.SOUNDS IN CONCERT 2012

Esplanade Recital Studio

Sunday (26 August 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 28 August 2012 with the title "High scores for Singapore sounds".

It would be no understatement to assert that the Singapore’s cultural milieu is not conducive for the creation of new music. For example, the national orchestra has not commissioned a significant symphonic work from a local composer since 2004. Singapore’s latest opera Fences by John Sharpley and Robert Yeo received neither funding nor support from the National Arts Council. Composers persevere nonetheless, and it is the dedication of small groups of musicians and zealots that ensure that their music gets heard.

Chamber.Sounds is one such group, and its call for scores in 2011 saw the fruits come to bear in this varied and interesting hour-long concert. Five young composers were represented, beginning with Jeremiah Li’s Flourishes, three short movements for flute, clarinet, cello and piano.

Jeremiah Li's Flourishes

Described as “broad brush strokes”, various aspects of instrumental colour were explored. Bass clarinet and later piccolo solos opened the atonal first movement. The insides of the piano were plucked in the second movement, where the alto flute’s shakuhachi-like passages lent an Asian feel to the proceedings, while vigorous piano and cello ostinatos led the final movement.

Bertram Wee's Blurebird

Bertram Wee’s Bluebird, inspired by Charles Bukowski, was a duo for Kevin Seah’s flute and Chan Si Han’s cello, both locked in alternating intimacy and mortal combat. Flutter-tonguing on the flute produced a typically eerie and visceral sound, which contrasted with the cello’s more sustained lines. 

Derek Lim's In Darkness, Light Shines

In Darkness, Light Shines is the middle movement of a piano trio by Derek Lim. This is a journey from despair to hope, underpinned by a throbbing pulse from Wong Yun Qi’s piano, which at times resembled that of a tango. Beginning in low registers, the music traversed through a series of emotional ups and downs before arriving at a reassuring resolution in A major. Now this listener is moved and curious to hear the other movements.

Tan Mei Ling's Paradigm of a Magician

 

In this flute-dominated weekend, flautist Seah was called upon as the protagonist in Tan Mei Ling’s Paradigm of a Magician, a three-movement quintet (with clarinet, violin, viola and cello) inspired by a children’s picture book project. His flight of fantasy in the unaccompanied first movement met its match in Daniel Yiau’s clarinet in the slow and calming second movement Encounter. More lovely sounds returned in the finale which saw the magical flute having the last words.

Emily Koh's Freyja

The most adventurous work was Emily Koh’s Freyja for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, which portrayed the changing seasonal foliage of New England. Autumn was vigourous and sprightly, giving way to the static austerity of winter before the augurs of spring brought a return to life. The astonishingly vibrant score saw the liberal use of microtones, with instruments sliding and segueing into pitches that lie between the notes. The seemingly off-pitched stances provided an unnerving and unsettling feel, which is probably the message of the piece – everything is impermanent.     

 

Chamber.Sounds has become the de facto New Music Forum of old. May its laudable endeavours continue to bring out the best of new Singaporean music.



Chamber.Sounds in Concert 2012
Performers were (from L) Jeremiah Li (conductor), Chan Si Han (cello), Ng Wei Ping (violin),  Kelvin Seah (flute), Wong Yun Qi (piano), Daniel Yiau (clarinet), and Jaryl Luo (viola).

 

JED HUANG Flute Recital with MIYUKI WASHIMIYA / Review

REGRETS & RESOLUTIONS

JED HUANG Flute Recital

with MIYUKI WASHIMIYA, Piano

Esplanade Recital Studio

Saturday (25 August 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 27 August 2012 with the title "Flautist Jed Huang shines".

Violin, piano and vocal recitals by debutante musicians are becoming more common now but concerts featuring solo woodwind instruments are still rarities. So thanks go to the Kris Foundation for presenting talented young flautist Jed Huang Jia Jia, recent recipient of the FJ Benjamin-SSO Bursary and student of the prestigious Ecole Normale in Paris. 

His recital was a demanding one, but this stylish performer maintained a cool front throughout. Opening with just the slower first half of Franz Doppler’s Hungarian Pastoral Fantasy, his attention to finer points, colouring each slur and grace-note with thoughtful detail and much feeling, showed him to be both sensitive and meticulous. This continued into Saint-Saens’s Romance which luxuriated in a smooth seamless cantabile.

The rest of the first half belonged to Schubert. First, pianist Washimiya polished off the lyrical G Flat Major Impromptu with song-like finesse, and the rustic Moment Musicaux No.3 with a twinkle and smile. Just light-hearted diversions before Schubert’s major work for flute, Introduction and Variations on Tröckne Blumen. Running over 20 minutes, both flautist and pianist were put to the test and made to work overtime.

There was a longish prelude, where Huang’s rounded and full-bodied tone impressed, and the simple theme of the lied from the song cycle Die Schöne Mullerin was heard. The seven variations that followed got increasingly more complex and virtuosic, but the duo never flinched as the notes piled up relentlessly. The performance, resolute but never feeling laboured, came close to the evening’s tour de force.  

The second half began with an agreeable Mozart Rondo and Chinese flautist-composer Tan Mizi’s Flute and Drums By Sunset for solo flute. The latter called for the flautist to gently tap on the keys of his instrument, which produced a softly pitched percussive timbre. The soliloquy itself was highly evocative of scenes from Chinese paintings, and Huang played as if owned the piece. This sympathy is not surprisingly as the 1980 work was dedicated to his father Huang Shao Jiang, former Principle Flautist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. 

The final item of the concert was a satisfying reading of Cesar Franck’s Sonata In A Major, originally written for the violin. Given its sheer mellifluousness, flautists have assumed it as one of their own. Both musicians were well matched, and given the complexity of the piano part, Washimiya was ever so mindful not to overwhelm her partner especially in the rapturous second movement. Huang encountered some difficulties in the hymn-like canon of a finale, but recovered well to close with aplomb.

The encore, popular Chinese melody Colourful Clouds Chasing The Moon, was icing on the cake. Jed Huang, a highly perceptive musical soul, is a name for the future.   

Photos from the Night Festival

The Civic Centre of Singapore was awash with a glittering light show that illuminated this year's Night Festival. I was just returning from a recital at Esplanade where it was difficult to miss the colours on display. A large crowd numbering in the thousands occupied the plaza of the Singapore Management University and outside the museums to witness the spectacle on show. Here are some photos I took outside the Singapore History Museum and Singapore Art Museum. The Night Festival runs again on Friday and Saturday week (31 August and 1 September 2012) from 7 pm to 2 am. Admission is free, so do not miss it!

Asian legends

Modern Singapore of today.

The entrance to the History Museum has never looked this funky.

A strange moss has infected the Singapore Art Museum!

3rd Singapore Flute Festival / Denis Bouriakov Flute Recital

Looks like this is the weekend for flute concerts. The 3rd Singapore Flute Festival, organised by the Flute Studio and Goh Tiong Eng, was taking place at the School of the Arts. Meanwhile, local talent Jed Huang was also giving his debut solo recital at the Esplanade Recital Studio, in a totally unrelated event. Although I was not reviewing concerts in this year's Flute Festival (that honour goes to Professor Geoffrey Benjamin, who is a flautist himself), it was still a great experience to hear great flute music beautifully played,

The main draw and keynote speaker for this year's Flute Festival is the Russian-born Denis Bouriakov, now the Principal Flautist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He performed a solo recital on Friday evening (24 August 2012) and will be a soloist with the Flute Festival Orchestra on Sunday (26 August). I was not disappointed, as he is truly one of the great flautists in the world today. His beautiful tone is allied with an effortless virtuosity that is usually associated with violinists rather than wind players.    

The concert began with Bach's Double Concerto in D minor (BWV.1043), originally for two violins. Here Denis Bouriakov is joined by his Korean wife Erin. This version for two flutes sounds perfectly natural and idiomatic.

The concert also included Villa-Lobos's Jet Whistle and Demesseman's Oberon Fantasy.  

The second half began with Debussy's Prelude a l'apres midi dun faune, with its famous sinuous opening flute solo. This was followed by the concert's tour de force, Saint-Saëns's Third Violin Concerto in its flute version. I dare say the slow movement sounds even better for the flute. Pianist Aya Sakou was also pushed to the limit, but this made for an unforgettable show of flute and piano fireworks.

Well deserved applause and cheers for Denis Bouriakov and Aya Sakou. By the way,  did you know Bouriakov also recorded Sibelius's Violin Concerto for the flute?

Four Hands Piano Recital / Jean-Jacques Balet and Mayumi Kameda / Review

FOUR HANDS PIANO RECITAL

Jean-Jacques Balet and Mayumi Kameda

Conservatory Concert Hall

Tuesday (21 August 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 August 2012 with the title "Great contrasts from piano duo".

Recitals of piano music played by four hands are rare events, and when the repertoire avoids usual suspects and unearths rarely performed works, these become even more treasurable. The Geneva-based piano duo of Jean-Jacques Balet and Mayumi Kameda served up a treat of the familiar and the arcane.

Schumann’s Pictures from the East (Bilder aus dem Osten) is a positive rarity but make very pleasant listening. Although inspired by 11^th century Arabic writings from the Maqamat, the six varied impromptus do not contain a shred of Oriental music. What enlivened their appeal was the well-coordinated play of voices from both primo and secondo parts, evenly delineated and clearly articulated throughout.    

This merely served as warm-up for the undoubted masterpiece that is Schubert’s Fantasy in F minor. It is very well known but seldom performed here because its utmost musical demands elude the skilled amateurs for whom it was originally written. The Swiss duo had their hands full, but their whole-hearted performance never stinted on poetry and drama.

The lilting opening over which a melancholic melody floated was beautifully hewn, not too slow nor too impatient such that the march-like second theme came across well contrasted. There was no let-up in the ensuing busy central episode, which was free-flowing and exciting. When the opening theme returned, it made for a welcome déjà vu. Good performances tend to create that feeling, making one forget about the notes.

The second half was devoted to just one work, the Singapore premiere of the original piano version of Stravinsky’s epoch-making ballet The Rite of Spring. Lest one imagined it to be a mere reduction of the fully-scored orchestral work, this is not the case. Every strident chord, every ear-shattering cluster, mounted on irregular and jagged epileptic rhythms, was already conceived on four hands in this score.

Thus the listener does not actually miss the orchestral colours when this leaping skeleton launches into full flight. One instead marvels at the ingenious invention, outrageous audacity, and the sheer frenetic pace at which all the intriguing details falls into place. For this, Balet and Kameda applied themselves with great industry and agility, scarcely missing a note amid the throng.

One also exults at the intricate choreography of twenty fingers on a single cramped keyboard, the expert crossing of hands without getting in each other’s way. The final orgiastic Sacrificial Dance further upped the ante, by which time the kinetic pace and forward momentum almost left the poor page-turner in its wake.

The tumultuous applause was rewarded with two far-quieter encores: Ravel’s gamelan-inspired Empress of the Pagodas and Fauré’s Mi-a-ou  from Dolly Suite. Fascinating contrasts indeed. 

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, August 2012)

LEKEU Violin Sonata

RAVEL Complete Violin Music

ALINA IBRAGIMOVA, Violin

CEDRIC TIBERGHIEN, Piano

Hyperion  67820 / *****

What if the Belgian-composer Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894) had not died from typhoid at a tender age of just 24? On the evidence of his only Violin Sonata (1892/93) in G major, he might have become one of the great French-school composers of the Franck-Fauré-Chausson lineage that preceded the rise of the so-called impressionists. He was a student of Cesar Franck, which might explain the sonata’s similarities with his teacher’s own Violin Sonata, also composed for the great Belgian virtuoso Eugene Ysaye. Notable is the use of cyclical form, where the noble and lyrical main theme from the first movement returns in the finale, thus bringing unity to the sprawling 34 minute masterpiece.

Maurice Ravel’s violin music is hardly obscure, with the exception of his early Violin Sonata from 1897 (his Posthumous Sonata), which must not be confused with his Sonata of 1927 (also included here in this collection), with its iconic Blues movement. At 14 minutes, the ruminative quality of its single movement is reminiscent of Chausson’s rhapsodic Poeme, but its languidness does not scale the heights of ecstasy, a classic trait of the impressionists. Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova coaxes a pure and refined tone throughout without holding out on outright virtuosity. For the Lekeu rarity, hers is a breezy alternative to Arthur Grumiaux’s darkly-hued and brooding account from 1955. Ardently recommended.   

DVORAK Symphony No.7

Othello / The Wild Dove

Malaysian Philharmonic / CLAUS PETER FLOR

BIS SACD-1896 / *****

If anybody had suggested 15 years ago that some of the best recordings of Czech music came out from Malaysia, that person would have been considered fit for the lunatic asylum. Fact: German conductor Claus Peter Flor’s third recording with the Malaysian Philharmonic, of music by Antonin Dvorak, is an unqualified triumph. The Bohemian’s Seventh Symphony in D minor is the darkest and most Brahmsian of his great final symphonic trilogy. From its opening bars, one immediately feels the urgency, storms and stresses, which Flor works his charges to thrilling climaxes with chilling effect. The buoyant Slavonic dance that is its third movement provides some respite before being swept away by the relentless tide of the finale.

Of equal interest are the fill-ups, an overture and symphonic poem. The Shakespeare-inspired Othello is the third part of a triptych of concert overtures, with the programme of jealousy and murder vividly characterised. Even more sinister is The Wild Dove (Holoubek), based on a macabre folk ballad by Karel Erben. The tables are turned when a wife poisons her husband and marries someone else, but supernatural forces eventually wreak a terrible vengeance. All these make for excellent programme music, musical narration that tells a story without the use of words. Exciting stuff, brilliantly executed.

FENCES by John Sharpley and Robert Yeo / Opera Viva / Review

FENCES

Opera Viva

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

Sunday (19 August 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 21 August 2012 with the title "Home-grown opera breaks through barriers".

Only the second opera to come out of Singapore, John Sharpley’s Fences with libretto by Robert Yeo finally came to fruition after an eight year gestation. Opera Viva, Singapore’s second opera company, was specifically created to produce this opera about inter-racial love set in the turbulent 1960s of Singapore and Malaysia. The premise of the story was the brainchild of local opera connoisseur Leow Siak Fah, who himself played a major part in Singapore’s first opera, Leong Yoon Pin and Edwin Thumboo’s Bunga Mawar of 1997.

1961: Nora Ibrahim meets Steven Lee in Malaya Hall, London

There are similarities between the two operas, chiefly a Romeo And Juliet-like love story involving members of families from different stations. While both protagonists of Bunga Mawar were Chinese, Fences sets up further barriers between Steven Lee and Nora Ibrahim, namely race, religion and nationality. Could true love overcome bigotry, chauvinism and politics?

The music by John Sharpley, a Texan who has lived in Singapore for half his life, was gratifyingly tonal. He did not quote or write Asian melodies, but neither could he completely escape from influences by Copland, Bernstein and Britten, which permeated his lyrical outpourings. The orchestration was sumptuous, sparing no details when he tried to simulate an Asian aesthete – scoring erhu, yangqin and dizi for Lee family scenes, with marimba and assorted percussion in the corresponding Malay episodes. 

The final duet at Tanjong Pagar Station: A hotel is not a home, so where do we go from here? 

The singers were expertly cast, veteran tenor David Quah and newcomer soprano Akiko Otao clicked surprisingly well. Their acting and body language were totally believable, supported by short but angst-ridden arias What is this Stink called Home? and What Coming Home Means respectively, loaded with powerfully charged words. Behind them, Nomer Son and Satsuki Nagatome (as the Ibrahims), Rueben Lai and Anna Ivanenko (the Lees) were convincing in the portrayals of paternal intransigence and maternal sympathy. 

The Geylang Serai riots: Steven gets battered and bruised.

The well-honed chorus played a larger role than expected, its appearance inevitably fanning the flames of the heated sentiments of the moment. Where but in the context of this opera can the inflammatory phrases “kurang hajar” (debased person) or “Crush Lee Kuan Yew!” escape the censor’s scissors? The appearance of the first PM, clad in all white, also had the revisionist about it. His broadcast speech of 9 August 1965 was not clothed in regretful tears, but one of indignation and defiance.

9 August 1965: Singapore is booted out; LKY standing tall, is defiant rather than  tearful.

Malay vs Chinese. Islam vs Buddhism. Malaysia vs Singapore. Never the twain shall meet.

Chandran Lingam’s direction was clear-headed and effective. The two stages on which the sung dialogues of the families took place were representative of the gulfs which people and their societies impose on themselves. Never the twain shall meet; these were the metaphorical fences erected (hence the opera’s title) and stoutly defended to the death.

The sextet of confrontation.

The one major regret of this production was the lack of surtitles. With the orchestra superbly directed by Darrell Ang placed just in front of the stage, the sung English of the amplified singers was often rendered indecipherable and sometimes drowned out. A printed libretto was provided on the second evening, but the small print and dim lighting nullified the thoughtful gesture.

Steven and Nora plan a new life together... in Australia!

Despite the technical difficulties encountered, Fences, a lesson on conflict, confrontation and ultimately compromise, is something societies that genuinely seek tolerance and forbearance can learn from. Musically and artistically, it represents a significant advance on the earlier efforts of Bunga Mawar. Let us hopefully not wait another 15 years for the next major Singaporean opera.

Akiko Otao as Nora and David Quah as Steven.

Darrell Ang, John Sharpley and Robert Yeo get their accolades. 

SUMMER ROSES / See Ian Ike Violin Recital / Review

SUMMER ROSES

SEE IAN IKE Violin Recital

with MIYUKI WASHIMIYA, Piano

Esplanade Recital Studio

Saturday (18 August 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 20 August 2012 with the title "Effortless artistry in debut solo recital".

Another summer, another young Singaporean violinist returns to give an impressive debut recital. This time, it is the turn of See Ian Ike, who studied privately with violinists Sylvia Khoo and Qian Zhou, and at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and was recently appointed Associate Concertmaster of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.

See is, however, no stranger to the musical scene having won numerous local awards, performed in outreach concerts with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, besides giving a splendid performance of Bruch’s First Violin Concerto with the Orchestra of the Music Makers in 2010. This was his first public solo recital, and what a splash it made.

The unaccompanied violin music of Bach provided an unequivocal survey of his artistry. The Preludium of the Third Partita, normally a treacherous study of prestidigitation, sounded almost effortless in his hands. It was not just the facility of execution that was unquestionable, but his crystal-clear projection allied with perfect intonation. The movements that followed were fluent and joyfully wrought, fully cognizant of their origins as period dances.  

He has an unfussy view of the magnificent Chaconne from the Second Partita, its short variations unfolding majestically as his conception of the movement’s architecture gained stature with every phrase and gesture. That he allows the music to speak for itself was a plus, and his elucidation of its wonders a revelation.  

Two further sonatas partnered by the marvellous Japanese pianist Miyuki Washimiya completed the picture. First it was Brahms’s autumnal Second Sonata, its song-like subjects flowing with a mellifluousness and musicality that was hard to resist. See’s violin soared above the dense piano textures, and bantered playfully with the piano in the contrasting section of the middle movement.   

Washimiya was every bit an equal partner in this venture, the plethora of colours she yielded was dazzling, and matched by See in every turn. This was even more apparent in Ravel’s Sonata in G major, where the fiendishly tricky play of polytonality could have wreaked havoc, but both held their nerve and a bit more. The Blues movement had genuine swagger, with violin pizzicatos simulating the plucked banjo, and knowing slurs and insinuating slides adding to the music’s sultry exoticism.

The pep and energy in the finale’s perpetual motion provided a thrilling conclusion while bringing down a well-filled house. The encore, It Ain’t Necessarily So from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess by way of Heifetz, was a real tease. The Kris Foundation, which supports young talent by presenting this evening’s treats, has backed another sure winner.   

STORIES FROM THE GARDEN / Brendan-Keefe Au Vocal Recital / Review

STORIES FROM THE GARDEN

BRENDAN-KEEFE AU Vocal Recital

The Living Room @ The Arts House

Friday (17 August 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 20 August 2012 with the title "A master of nuances in four languages".

It is refreshing to encounter a tenor who does not aspire to be the next Pavarotti or Domingo. Young tenor Brendan-Keefe Au, in his debut vocal recital (with pianist Hye-Seon Choi accompanying), is closer in spirit to Peter Pears or Ian Bostridge, to name two British tenors renowned for their sensitivity and refinement rather than “can belto” abilities.

Au is of slight and slender built, but carries himself with an air of confidence. Add a boyish smile and gentle personality, the likeability factor comes across winningly. In a well-conceived programme of 18 songs inspired by the garden, nature and love, he impressed with a mastery of nuances and shades in four languages.   

Opening with Italian, there was lightness and crispness of articulation in Scarlatti’s Le Violette, Sarti’s Lungi del caro bene (Far from my Beloved) and Bellini’s Vanne, O rosa fortunata (Go, Fortunate Rose). His expression of sorrow and longing were made all the more believable, and he was just warming up.

German accounted for eight of the songs, beginning with two light-hearted Lieder by Schubert. The familiar Heidenröslein (Little Red Rose) rang with a playful sprightliness, while Die Taubenpost (Pigeon Post) from the cycle Schwanengesang (Swan Song) warmed up the heart in the anticipation of good news from one’s beloved. In Mozart’s Das Veilchen (Little Violet), Au’s sense of theatricality and vivid story-telling came through well.

It was, however, less plain-sailing in Brahms’s Lerchengesang (Lark’s Song), where the high registers seemed beyond easy reach, and strain became apparent. The comedic irony of Mahler’s Ablösung in Sommer (Relief in Summer) was not fully realised, but Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen (Where the Beautiful Trumpets Blow) was a bona fide interpretation, its ghostly martial echoes a poignant reflection of death on a battlefield.

Au’s French held up well in Chausson’s two chansons, Les Papillons and Le Colibri (The Humming Bird), the latter finding a rapturous high amid lush Wagnerian harmonies. He was on a comfortable home stretch for the four English songs that closed the evening. Vaughan Williams’s Silent Noon and Quilter’s It was a Lover and his Lass delved on love from different view-points, and he was convincing on both accounts.

Two settings of British folksongs, The Ash Grove and The Last Rose of Summer, with Benjamin Britten’s piquant piano harmonisations, were pure pleasure itself. The darkly hued Last Rose would have cast a gloomy pall, but Au finished off with the far more cheerful Down by the Salley Gardens for good measure and prolonged applause. The road to true artistry is a long and arduous one, but this talented tenor is well and truly on his way.