We're thrilled that Helen Charlston's recital album Battle Cry: She Speaks, with Toby Carr on the theorbo, has been released on Delphian. An hour long programme of both 17th-Century and modern works which seek to reconsider the obsession of earlier music with female abandonment and lament, such as the stories of Dido and Ariadne. Owain Park's recently commissioned work Battle Cry aims to give these ‘abandoned women’ their own platform, and brings the combination of voice and theorbo into the world of contemporary music.
“These characters come alive in Charlston’s flexible mezzo, surely one of the most exciting voices in the new generation of British singers… You get the strong sense from this superb recording that they’re only just getting started"
Alexandra Coghlan, Gramophone
“Charlston’s distinctive, expressive lower register, and the clarity of every word, contribute to an outstanding disc.”
Fiona Maddocks, The Guardian
This disc follows her debut recital album Isolation Songbook with Michael Craddock, which was released on Delphian (DCD34253) in March 2021.
