The name Robert Louis Stevenson instantly calls to mind the desert beaches of Robinson Crusoe, and here, too, his Songs of Travel poems stir up the winds of the great wide open. This collection, set to music by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, is an evocative quintessence of the “solitary wanderer”. A sort of British Winterreise, served with all the necessary delicacy and elegance by the young English baritone George Humphreys. This inner voyage continues with the poetry of Shakespeare (The Clown’s Song from Twelfth Night) and Pushkin (the stunning Romances by Rachmaninov). Lastly, we will dip into the dark waters of the legend of the mad king Erik XIV, in the melodic cycle by the Swedish composer Ture Rangström.

George Humphreys baritone
Sholto Kynoch piano

Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Songs of Travel
The wanderer
Let beauty awake
Roadside Fire
Whither must I wander ?
The infinite Shining heavens
Bright is the ring of mords

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Charles Villiers Stanford (1852 - 1924)

3 The Clown's Songs from Twelfth Night - op. 65
O mistress mine, where are you roaming
Come away death

The rain it raineth every day

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Sergeï Rachmaninov (1873-1943)             
Op. 4 Songs                

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Ture Rangström (1884 - 1947)

Ur Kung Eriks Visor             
1. En visa om när jag var lustig med Welam Welamsson…
2. En visa om mig och narren Herkules.
3. En visa till Karin när hon hade dansat.
4. En visa till Karin ur fängelset.
5. Kung Eriks sista visa.