Susan Hill The Benefit of Hindsight

Born Marion Susan Maughan but dropping her first name, Susan's big hit was a cover of Bobby's girl. Originally an American hit for Marcie Blane, Susan took the song to the top three in the British charts. Neither singer had much success after that although as I explained in a review of a Marcie Blane compilation, Marcie really wasn't interested in a recording career, or indeed a singing career of any kind, and contented herself with a normal life away from the spotlight. As a contrast, Susan has built a singing career on the strength of Bobby's girl, performing on cruise liners, at seaside resorts and elsewhere on the cabaret circuit.

This six-CD set is sure to be of interest to fans of Susan Graham, the phenomenally successful American mezzo-soprano. The recordings, with the exception of just a few tracks from the 1990s, were made between 2000 and 2005, and they reveal Graham in her prime. Five of the discs had previously been released, but one is made up of selections from a variety of sources, including complete opera recordings. The set demonstrates Graham's versatility, both stylistically in the many types of music she sings and in the emotional spectrum that the songs and arias encompass. .

Handel’s beautiful, intimate settings of liturgical texts written for the First Duke of Chandos are among his less well-known choral works—and are proved by this second volume from Trinity also to be among his loveliest. They are a perfect example of the composer’s English style heard in Acis & Galatea and oratorios such as Judas Maccabaeus.