Presto Recordings of the Year
Finalist 2023

Mary Bevan (soprano), Joseph Middleton (piano)
12 Ensemble, Ruisi Quartet

Fauré: Clair de Lune, Op. 46 No. 2
Britten: Les illuminations, Op. 18
Ravel: Les grands vents venus d'outre-mer
Ravel: Un grand sommeil noir
Ravel: Si morne!
Duparc: Chanson triste
Chabrier: Tes yeux bleus
Chausson: Chanson perpétuelle, Op. 37
Debussy: La mer est plus belle
Debussy: Mandoline, L. 29
Debussy: Trois Mélodies de Verlaine. II. Le son du cor s’afflige & III.
Holmès, A: Sérénades

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

"The heart of the recital is a radiantly searching performance of Britten’s Les illuminations...Bevan’s ability to combine warmth with refreshing vigour is to the fore in Chausson’s Chanson perpétuelle and the Debussy songs grouped by Holloway as Quatre mélodies de Verlaine." - BBC Music Magazine, April 2023.