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Liszt: The Complete Songs Volume 5 – Allan Clayton
“This fifth volume of Julius Drake’s superb series of Liszt songs on Hyperion sees the young British tenor Allan Clayton bringing the same compelling mixture of ardour and vulnerability that made his Glyndebourne Hamlet such a sensation to a selection of German and French songs: the latter, in particular, suggest that the voice is on the cusp of a transition into more dramatic territory, which had me crossing my fingers that he’ll be playing a key role in next year’s Berlioz anniversary celebrations and eagerly awaiting his imminent assumption of Britten’s Peter Grimes. Spotlit by a pleasingly dry acoustic which allows every thoughtful detail to register, Drake is characteristically eloquent and imaginative throughout – listen, for instance, to the two completely different moods which he invokes with a simple repeated phrase in the space of just two bars in the opening of ‘Morgens steh’ ich auf und frage’.”
Kathryn Cooper "Presto Personal Favourites of 2018"“Drake needs no introduction to Washington audiences, other than to say that he is one of today’s foremost collaborative pianists, and any singer would be lucky to have him for a partner.”
Patrick RuckerHe clad Gerald Finley’s strong vocal body in a sometimes airy, sometimes warm, encasement of sound. The Briton was… both storm and breath, frost and glowing embers. This was an exceptional performance that defined art as the daughter of craftsmanship and genius.” Stefan Ender