Leeds Song Festival Review: Innovative Recitals from Haiku to Hauntings
The Leeds Song Festival, under the direction of Joseph Middleton, continues to innovate while honoring traditional vocal arts. The review highlights two distinct concerts that exemplify this balance. The first featured baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Iain Burnside performing 'Haiku,' a program centered on Libby Larsen’s settings of poems by Japanese Americans interned during World War II. Their recital blended these modern works with classics by Schubert, Britten, and others, showcasing Williams’ expressive storytelling and Burnside’s supportive accompaniment. The second concert presented 'Dunwich,' a festival commission by local composer Martin Iddon. Described as a 'song cycle without a singer,' this intermedia piece combined atmospheric soundscapes, field recordings, piano performance by Rei Nakamura, spoken word, and video to evoke the history of the lost medieval city of Dunwich. The festival successfully pushed artistic boundaries, offering audiences a diverse range of experiences from intimate traditional recitals to immersive, experimental sound installations, demonstrating a commitment to both historical roots and contemporary creativity in the vocal arts landscape.
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Leeds Song Festival Review: Innovative Recitals from Haiku to Hauntings
The Leeds Song Festival, under the direction of Joseph Middleton, continues to innovate while honoring traditional vocal arts. The review highlights two distinct concerts that exemplify this balance. The first featured baritone Roderick Williams and pianist Iain Burnside performing 'Haiku,' a program centered on Libby Larsen’s settings of poems by Japanese Americans interned during World War II. Their recital blended these modern works with classics by Schubert, Britten, and others, showcasing Williams’ expressive storytelling and Burnside’s supportive accompaniment. The second concert presented 'Dunwich,' a festival commission by local composer Martin Iddon. Described as a 'song cycle without a singer,' this intermedia piece combined atmospheric soundscapes, field recordings, piano performance by Rei Nakamura, spoken word, and video to evoke the history of the lost medieval city of Dunwich. The festival successfully pushed artistic boundaries, offering audiences a diverse range of experiences from intimate traditional recitals to immersive, experimental sound installations, demonstrating a commitment to both historical roots and contemporary creativity in the vocal arts landscape.
The Guardian