Hélène Clément, Dame Sarah Connolly & Alasdair Beatson - Bridge & Britten: Works for Viola (2022) [Digital Download 24/96]

Both Benjamin Britten and his teacher Frank Bridge at one point owned the Giussani viola played by Hélène Clément on this album, which features pieces the two composers wrote for the instrument. The most substantial work here, Britten’s Lachrymae, is a series of pensive variations on a theme by John Dowland and is performed evocatively by Clément. In the Elegy, also by Britten, the Giussani viola’s special eloquence is evident in its deep tonal resonance and vivid responsiveness to Clément’s pizzicatos. Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly’s stirring performance of Bridge’s Three Songs is another highlight, as is the vein of aching sadness Clément finds in another of Bridge’s works, There Is a Willow Grows Aslant a Brook.

Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano
Helene Clement, viola
Alasdair Beatson, piano

Tracklist:
1. Hélène Clément & Alasdair Beatson – Cello Sonata in D Minor, H 125 (Arr. for Viola by Hélène Clément): I. Allegro ben moderato (10:19)
2. Hélène Clément & Alasdair Beatson – Cello Sonata in D Minor, H 125 (Arr. for Viola by Hélène Clément): II. Adagio ma non troppo (12:47)
3. Alasdair Beatson & Hélène Clément – There Is a Willow Grows aslant a Brook, H 173 (Arr. Benjamin Britten) (08:28)
4. Sarah Connolly, Alasdair Beatson & Hélène Clément – Three Songs, H 76: I. Far, far from each other (03:36)
5. Sarah Connolly, Alasdair Beatson & Hélène Clément – Three Songs, H 76: II. Where is it that our soul doth go? (03:37)
6. Sarah Connolly, Alasdair Beatson & Hélène Clément – Three Songs, H 76: III. Music, when soft voices die (02:25)
7. Alasdair Beatson & Hélène Clément – Elegy (06:50)
8. Alasdair Beatson & Hélène Clément – Lachrymae, Reflections on a Song of Dowland, Op. 48 (13:10)


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