Gramophone Editor's Choices - July 2022

Presto Editor's Choice, June 2022

Heloise Werner (soprano), Amy Harman (bassoon), Lawrence Power (violin, viola), Calum Huggan (percussion), Colin Alexander (cello), Laura Snowden (guitar), Daniel Shao (flute)

Werner, Héloïse: Like Words
Stephenson, Josephine: Comme l’espoir / you might all disappear
Werner, Héloïse: Syncopate
Frances-Hoad: Something More Than Mortal
Muhly: Benedicite Recitation
Aperghis: Récitations. Werner, Héloïse: Like Words
Stephenson, Josephine: Comme l’espoir / you might all disappear
Werner, Héloïse: Syncopate
Frances-Hoad: Something More Than Mortal
Muhly: Benedicite Recitation
Aperghis: Récitations. Récitation 3 & Récitation 8
Werner, Héloïse: Unspecified Intentions
Aperghis: Récitations. Récitation 9 & Récitation 11
Werner, Héloïse: Confessional
Leith: yhyhyhyhyh
Mitchener: whetdreem
Werner, Héloïse: Mixed Phrases

Luminous and daring, this celebration of Héloïse Werner’s multifaceted gifts is nourished by rich dualities. Phrases reveals Werner as both singer and composer, as an artist shaped by both her native France and her adopted UK, and as a soloist of captivating individuality who is also an intrepid collaborator. The solos and duos that make up the album comprise five of Werner’s own compositions, four of Georges Aperghis’s avant-garde classic Récitations, and six newly commissioned works, by composers ranging from Elaine Mitchener and Nico Muhly to Oliver Leith. The calibre of Héloïse’s instrumental partners in the duos reflects the degree to which this extraordinary young performer is already valued and cherished by her peers.

"It is hard not to be in awe of Héloïse Werner: a soprano of extraordinary range, tone and vocal abilities, possessing a seemingly inexhaustible expressive range." - Katherine Cooper, Presto Music, June 2022.