Illuminations

Tear's Serenade and Nocturne are sterling performances, fervent and expressive without falling into preciousness. Harper's passionate Illuminations makes a strong case for a female voice in these fevered poems. Civil, Marriner and Tate provide atmospheric support.

Hot on the heels of Anne-Catherine Gillet’s performance of Les Illuminations ( comes another, quite different one from the Finnish coloratura soprano Anu Komsi. My suspicion that Britten wasn’t totally in sympathy with Rimbaud’s poetry is unsupported by documentary evidence, but in my own case there is no doubt: Rimbaud prevents me from fully appreciating the work. This performance has come as close as any to convincing me, however. The opening is crucial. The title is “Fanfare”; that is just what the strings should deliver, and my goodness, they certainly do. Anu Komsi’s is a big voice, easily capable of reaching the farthest corners of those opera houses that are her regular venues, and she uses it to dramatic effect in the “motto” at the end of “Fanfare”.

Here we introduce the new look and renamed label, 'Liquid Sound' from the Dragonfly family. The aim is to continue along the journey of sharing and introducing new music because that's what this is all about. The music that the artists have presented here on this compilation exemplifies this philosophy, although there are recognizable elements, the works push their boundaries right up to edge on the cusp of something completely unique. It is within this sensual and dynamic landscape that we can find wind for our sails, inspiration for our own journeys of the psyche that release and fire our imagination!