Gramophone – September 2019

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 9

FOR THE RECORD

If youcanjudgea singer

bythemusicalcompanyhe

keeps,thenyoungBritish

countertenorJamesHall

shouldbeheldinveryhigh

esteemindeed.Amongthe

leadingensemblesand

companiesHallhasalready

workedwitharethe

AcademyofAncientMusic,

theOrchestraoftheAgeof

Enlightenment,Il Pomo

d’Oro,theDunedinConsort,

theMonteverdiChoir,LaNuovaMusica,

ClassicalOpera,GlyndebourneFestivalOpera,

theRoyalOperaHouse,andtheBinchois

Consort(includingontheirEditor’sChoice-

winningHyperionalbum,‘Musicforthe 100

YearsWar’).

HallhasevenappearedonBroadway,as

thesingingvoiceinFarinelliandtheKing,

a rolealsosungbyBritishcountertenorstar

IestynDavis(surelyproofoffurtherillustrious

musicalcompany!).That’swherebothDavis

andtheconductorRobertKingbecame

awareofHall’stalents,andit’sonKing’sVivat

label,alongsideDavis,thatHallisnowabout

tomakehisirstmajorsolostudioappearance.

Called‘Elegy’,anddue

forreleaseattheendof

September,it willseeHall

joinDavistoperform

countertenorduetsby

PurcellandBlow.Videos

ontheVivatwebsiteduring

thereleasemonthwilltake

usbehindthescenesatthe

sessions,thoughif youcan’t

waituntilthen,Hall’swebsite

alreadyfeaturesthreeof

theminwhichhesings

Handel,BrittenandGeorgeBenjamin.

It’sa spanofrepertoirethatwellrelectsthe

diversityofHall’supcomingprojects:Goredo

inHandel’sRinaldoforGlyndebourneonTour,

OberoninA MidsummerNight’sDreamfor

theDeutscheOperBerlin,andBenjamin’s

WrittenonSkinattheVeniceBiennale.

There’salsosoloBachwithviolinistViktoria

MullovaandtheAAM,Vivaldi’sGloriawiththe

SCOandMaximEmelyanychev,andfurther

appearanceswiththeKing’sConsortin

Handelnextseason.

Verymucha ‘onetowatch’then– andone

witha wholehostofopportunities,ina host

ofrepertoire,withwhichtocatchhim.

ONE TO WATCH

James HallCountertenor

V

oting for Gramophone’s

2019 Orchestra of the

Year Award, presented

with Apple Music, closes at

midnight on September 7. To

help you decide before you

vote, visit gramophone.co.uk/

applemusic and listen to the

10 playlists of our nominated

ensembles – two from the

USA (the Boston SO and

San Francisco Symphony),

two from the UK (the LSO

and the RLPO), three from

Continental Europe (the

Orchestra dell’Accademia

Nazionale di Santa Cecilia,

the Gothenburg SO and the

Staatskapelle Berlin) and one

from Asia (the Hong Kong

Philharmonic), as well as two

period-instrument ensembles (the

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and

Les Siècles from France). There is also an

11th playlist featuring all the ensembles.

Inaddition,RobCowanandJamesJolly

present three podcasts focusing on the 10

competing ensembles. Sign up for a free

three-month subscription to Apple Music,

listen to the podcasts and playlists, and vote!

Last call to vote for our Orchestra 
!

PHOTOGRAPHY:

TO BE SUPPLIED

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Blogs

Visit the Gramophone website to read

blogs by leading classical artists and

composers. Recent posts include the

violinist Harriet Mackenzie on her cross-

genre recording project, and conductor

Jessica Cottis on how the Royal Opera House

is, through its pioneering, week-long ‘Women

Conductors Course’, nurturing the early

careers of female conductors in opera.

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