Sphinx Hamish McLaren & Matthew Jorysz

• Boris Tchaikovsky (1925 - 1996): From Kipling:
• 1Tchaikovsky: From Kipling: No. 1, The Distant Amazon03:13
• 2Tchaikovsky: From Kipling: No. 2, Homer04:22
• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): 2 Romances on Verses by Lermontov, Op. 84:
• 3Shostakovich: 2 Romances on Verses by Lermontov, Op. 84: No. 1, Morning in the Caucasus03:16
• 4Shostakovich: 2 Romances on Verses by Lermontov, Op. 84: No. 2, Ballad06:20
• Alexander Borodin (1833 - 1887):
• 5Borodin: My Songs Are Full of Poison01:14
• 6Borodin: Songs & Romances: No. 13, For the Distant Shores of Your Native Country04:06
• Sergei Taneyev (1856 - 1915):
• 7Taneyev: 5 Poems, Op. 33: No. 1, Night in the Mountains of Scotland03:41
• 8Taneyev: 10 Poems, Op. 26: No. 6, Stalactites04:23
• Boris Tchaikovsky: 2 Poems by Lermontov:
• 9Tchaikovsky: 2 Poems by Lermontov: No. 1, Autumn02:30
• 10Tchaikovsky: 2 Poems by Lermontov: No. 2, The Pine02:03
• Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881 - 1950):
• 11Myaskovsky: The Days of Youth, Op. 2 (Excerpts): No. 8, The Albatross03:31
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100:
• 12Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 1, Farewell, Granada!03:10
• 13Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 2, The Little Stars02:00
• 14Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 3, The First Meeting03:53
• 15Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 4, Ronda01:57
• 16Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 5, The Dark-Eyed Girl02:48
• 17Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100: No. 6, Dream02:36
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Spanish Songs, Op. 100:
• 18Shostakovich: Desdemona's Romance04:14
• 19Shostakovich: A Pointless Gift, a Chance Gift02:51
• Elena Firsova (b. 1950): 2 Songs to Poems by Boris Pasternak:
• 20Firsova: 2 Songs to Poems by Boris Pasternak: No. 1, The Wind02:20
• 21Firsova: 2 Songs to Poems by Boris Pasternak: No. 2, Twilight02:28
• Nikolai Myaskovsky:
• 22Myaskovsky: The Days of Youth, Op. 2 (Excerpts): No. 11, The Sphinx04:40
• Elena Firsova:
• 23Firsova: Winter Elegy, Op. 9104:51
• Total Runtime01:16:27

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