Fleur Barron, the Singaporean-British mezzo who is clearly making a name for herself gave a very good lunchtime recital at the Buxton Festival. Entitled “Between Dark and Daylight”, it included works by Clara Schumann, Brahms, Ives, Dutilleux, Korngold, Cage, Chen Yi, Florence Price, Li Yinghai, Chinese Folksongs and Schubert.
I didn’t have access to the words so it wasn’t always clear what Ms Barron was trying to communicate, though she gave good snappy introductions to a number of the songs, and the over-arching theme is obviously highly relevant at this time
I particularly liked the Chines folksongs, the piece by Li Yinghai, and the Ives’ songs. But all were interesting to listen to and Ms Barron seemed to have a lovely voice, particularly in the lower registers. I came away from the hour-long recital glad that I’d gone and feeling at peace with the world (for a bit, anyway)
John's musical journey 