Julius Drake’s recently released album “The Diary of One Who Disappeared and other works” is a collection of works composed by Leoš Janáček. Released on the 28 June under Hyperion Records, the album brings together Janáček’s “Říkadla ‘Nursery rhymes’”, “Moravská lidová poezie v písních ‘Moravian folk poetry in songs’” and the titular “Zápisník zmizelého ‘The diary of one who disappeared’”.
Performing with Drake on the album are tenor Nicky Spence and mezzo-soprano Vaclava Housková. The Sunday Times made it their album of the week on 30 June. The Times had this to say “Spence is prized for his operatic Janáček roles and delivers a wide variety of tone, while Drake adds quasi-orchestral drama to the piano part. The makeweight works are welcome, revealing the composer’s roots in Czech and Moravian tradition”.