ROBERT SAXTON (b. 1953)The Beach in Winter: Scratby (for Tess) (2007)

This chapter examines Robert Saxton’s The Beach in Winter: Scratby (for Tess) (2007). This piece, originally commissioned for the NMC Songbook, is now to be found as the last song of a major seven-movement baritone cycle Time and the Seasons. Its idiom is a far cry from Saxton’s earlier modernist works. The music is mellifluous, basically tonal, and beautifully turned, with voluptuously expressive vocal phrases that cover a wide range. The composer gives the baritone plenty of scope to span spacious phrases and articulate contrasting emotions, amid continual changes of key signature. Lines dart around the registers a good deal and the singer will need to control dynamics and vary timbre throughout his range. The pianist propels the music along with a continuous, ever-shifting texture of wave patterns—first rippling, then surging and pounding, or quite suddenly scattering in spray. Rhythms are pliable and there are many instances of irregular divisions, pitting fours against threes in the piano part.

JONATHAN DOVE (b. 1959)Cut My Shadow (2011)

This chapter studies Jonathan Dove’s Cut My Shadow (2011). This set of three songs (‘Surprise’, ‘The Guitar, and ‘Song of the Dry Orange Tree’) amply demonstrates Dove’s musical acumen and special understanding of vocal writing. The musical style, with its frequent use of repetitive figures, could certainly be described as ‘minimalist’, especially with regard to the characterful piano writing. It goes without saying that Dove is also an excellent pianist. The music brims with rhythmic vitality, and an exotic, passionate ‘Spanishness’ is established from the outset, achieved by deceptively simple means. A light mezzo can even relish the deepest notes, which are set so well that they come off every time, as long as the singer does not push too hard. Significantly, there are no dynamics written over the vocal line, so it is up to the singer to develop a close awareness of balance with the piano, and to adjust the volume without feeling strained or overwhelmed.

CHARLOTTE BRAY (b. 1982)Sonnets and Love Songs (2011)

This chapter assesses British composer Charlotte Bray’s Sonnets and Love Songs (2011). Bray’s musical style is cohesive, fluent, and evocative, with a strong harmonic sense and tonalities occasionally reminiscent of the English Romantics, albeit with a modernist ‘take’. The texts are by the distinguished Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, who revered Shakespeare as his model. They concern complex philosophical issues and dilemmas of life and love—three of the poems are actual sonnets. The composer has assembled her selection to describe a clear trajectory: from musings on innocence, through turbulence, to eventual liberation—an ambitious, bold concept, achieved with assurance. There is no getting away from the fact that the cycle demands a singer of exceptional accomplishment—the wide compass might indicate a bass-baritone, but the upper range is exploited mercilessly. Indeed, notes frequently have be held high in the voice, and many end with diminuendos, requiring technical skill in travelling through register changes.

SIMON BAINBRIDGE (b. 1952)Orpheus (2006)

This chapter discusses British composer Simon Bainbridge’s Orpheus (2006), a beautiful miniature and an elegantly crafted setting of a memorably evocative poem by W. H. Auden. It was originally written for tenor, and is perhaps best suited to that voice, in view of some high passages where a soprano’s resonance might impair verbal clarity. The musical idiom is atonal but not dauntingly so. There is ample space to place each entry carefully, and to gauge intervals, listening to the piano. Time signatures fluctuate throughout, creating a smooth flow devoid of rigidity—instinctive musicality is the hallmark. Meanwhile, the composer’s note explains the reason for the solitary vocal dynamic of piano. This is not intended to inhibit the singer into an over-careful monochrome delivery, but rather to preserve a general essence of quietness. His close understanding of singing means that he is aware that changes of tessitura will automatically result in subtle gradations of intensity and expressiveness, and he wishes this to be left to happen naturally, without the need for detailed annotation. The singer is therefore left unfettered to enjoy the enticingly mellifluous vocal phrases.

JOE CUTLER (b. 1968)Bands (2008)

This chapter addresses British composer Joe Cutler’s Bands (2008). This touching, insightful piece, deceptively simple, demands immense concentration and empathy. The text, by the composer’s father Richard Cutler, is a moving encapsulation of the traumatic experiences faced by child evacuees during the Second World War, as they left home and parents and boarded trains for unfamiliar places. With immense skill and daring, the composer strips his material to the bone with a pared-down, static harmonic base and stark, repetitive vocal lines to convey graphically the desolation and numbed emotions of the departing children. Rhythmic fluidity is provided by the interplay between irregular patterns in the piano’s left hand punctuated by percussive right-hand acciaccaturas, while the singer maintains a steady quarter-note pulse through syncopations and tied notes. In view of the plethora of high Gs, some prolonged, a tenor would perhaps be most comfortable, although a very light baritone with a secure high range could sound suitably disembodied.

HUW WATKINS (b. 1976)Three Auden Songs (2008)

This chapter explores Welsh composer Huw Watkins’s Three Auden Songs (2008). Written for the flexible high-lying voice of the tenor Mark Padmore, these three settings of W. H. Auden constitute an attractive and well-varied cycle which will sit well amongst more established pieces, and should prove a valuable addition to the tenor repertoire. It was commissioned by the Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels. The musical language is chromatic, quasi-tonal, and highly accessible, and, as to be expected, the composer’s writing for piano is idiomatic, achieving a distinctive character for each song. Vocal lines are rewardingly lyrical and words are set with care for clarity and ease of attack. The music is phrased naturally to match the flow of the text, so the singer should have no difficulty in planning breaths. The ability to launch and sustain an even tone will be shown to full advantage.

LIZ LANE (b. 1964)Landscapes (2009)

This chapter highlights Liz Lane’s Landscapes (2009). This song cycle, a special birthday commission for a young baritone, displays great empathy with the rich emotional world and stirring imagery of well-loved texts by Gerard Manley Hopkins, John Clare, and William Wordsworth. Words are set with clarity and sensitivity, in natural response to their resonances. The attractive musical idiom is basically tonal, but quite chromatic, encompassing changes of pace and mood with admirable fluency. Although unafraid of occasional extremes of register, the composer wisely focuses on medium tessitura when wishing to show the voice’s full palette of colours and shadings. Piano writing is clear and practical, ranging from ostinato figures to simple diaphanous textures and held chords. The three songs are well contrasted: the short opening setting ends in a passage of exultant shouting and the last song, in which the piano takes a major role, gives the singer a satisfying glissando.

RAYMOND YIU (b. 1973)The Earth and Every Common Sight (2010/2013)

This chapter examines Hong Kong-born composer Raymond Yiu’s The Earth and Every Common Sight (2010/13). This appealing cycle, written in a fluent, highly attractive idiom, is a fine example of Yiu’s expertise. Each song has an individual character and the six main movements are interspersed with two ‘Intermezzos’, setting words of Charles Darwin. Throughout, the voice–piano relationship is perfectly caught and words are set scrupulously. The composer shows a fine ear for balance and commands a range of contrasting styles with consummate ease. Wisely, he confines the vocal range to the treble stave for the most part, thereby ensuring clarity of text and variety of expression without putting the singer under duress. Despite a lack of extreme high notes, this is definitely for soprano rather than mezzo.

LLOYD MOORE (b. 1966)Charms to Music (2010)

This chapter looks at British composer Lloyd Moore’s Charms to Music (2010). In this piece, Moore’s musical language is immediately engaging, open, and spontaneous, yet with meticulous attention to detail, especially to the nuances of words, their natural dynamics and accents. The choice of texts is felicitous: each movement has an individual character, yet there is a cohesion in style, which bears strong resonances of European late romanticism, combined with a more modern chromaticism. The vocal writing is clear and fluent, with a pleasing directness. Moore has succeeded in finding an apt, well-balanced voice–piano relationship for each song. The piano writing is full of interest: repetitive figures feature frequently and sonorities veer from darkly sensuous harmonies to moments of glittering brightness. The vocal part avoids extremes of range; everything is practical and precisely imagined.

MARTIN BUTLER (b. 1960)London (2008)

This chapter explores British pianist and composer Martin Butler’s London (2008). This is, thus far, the sole work Butler has written for voice and piano. His musical idiom is easily accessible, basically tonal with naturally flowing lines and lovely sonorities. This is a classic English ‘Lied’ which sets William Blake’s poem with impeccable taste and assurance, allowing both performers a wide range of colour and expression, and encompassing a host of delicately calibrated details of nuance and dynamic. Marked ‘A Dirge’, the piece progresses at a steady pulse, led by a resonant piano part which goes on to three staves at the start. Wide-spanning bell-like chords support a flexible, shapely vocal line, with each word set immaculately. The broad vocal range might suggest a bass-baritone—several of the lowest passages, including the exposed ending, require a rock-like steadiness and security. However, the outer sections are basically quiet, and the emotional outburst at the song’s centre, as the music presses forward, will benefit from a high placing without strain.