NEW RELEASE INFORMATION

THE COMPLETE DELIUS SONGBOOK – VOLUME 1

MARK STONE, STEPHEN BARLOW, PIANO

CD RELEASE DATE: 18 July 2011

Stone Records is delighted to announce the first CD in a two-disc series that will comprise the first ever complete recording of the songs of (1862-1934) for voice and piano. Produced in association with 217 Records and supported by the Delius Society and the Ireland Trust, the series is being released in time for the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

This first volume, which includes five première recordings, features all Delius’ songs to English and Norwegian texts, the latter being sung in English translation. Delius was fascinated and heavily influenced by Norwegian culture, as is evidenced by the large number of Norwegian poems he chose to set, including the ever popular songs Twilight Fancies and Young Venevil. His English songs are equally as beautiful, although in a very different style; for each country, Delius seemed to adopt a distinct musical language. The disc’s booklet contains the full texts, together with the original Norwegian poetry and extensive notes for each song.

Stone is critically acclaimed for his performances on stage and in concert and his forthcoming engagements include debuts at , Oper Köln and Deutsche Oper, Berlin as well as return visits to the Royal House, Covent Garden and The Opera Company of Philadelphia. In recital with Barlow, he has been described as "a baritone of extraordinary elegance and unforced expressiveness... versatile in his response to the varying stylistic demands” with Barlow “accompanying his voice with a genuine feeling for tone-colour and shape". This disc was the result of a long period of research and preparation by both artists and is an important first for Delius enthusiasts and a must-hear for anyone interested in English song.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM “Baritone Mark Stone has it all: a terrific technique, theatrical presence and a voice guaranteed to tingle bits of your spine never tingled before.” “English love”, Classic FM magazine

“This is not a recital restricted to one vocal hue. Each song is looked at and receives relevant response from both singer and pianist... He introduces so much by way of nuance and colour to make this a very interesting and fulfilling programme, one which is well recorded.” “English love”, International record review

CONTINUES OVERLEAF

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark Stone at Stone Records Ltd Tel: 07595 534350 Email: [email protected] NEW RELEASE INFORMATION

BIOGRAPHIES Mark Stone studied at King’s College, Cambridge and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In addition to his roles with Covent Garden, , ENO, WNO and , he has also performed for the opera houses of Philadelphia, Santa Fe, Toronto, Stockholm, Leipzig, , Montpellier, Tel Aviv and New Zealand. In concert he has appeared with the Berlin Rundfunk Orchestra, Danish Radio Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Galicia Symphony Orchestra, Oviedo Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, LSO, Hallé, Manchester Camerata, Gabrieli Consort and the .

Stephen Barlow was a boy chorister at Canterbury Cathedral, won the Organ Scholarship to Trinity College‚ Cambridge and studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In the UK he has conducted at Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, ENO, Scottish Opera and Opera North. Abroad he has conducted for Vancouver Opera, San Francisco Opera, Florida, Miami, Victoria State Opera‚ Auckland‚ Melbourne, State Opera of South Australia, Berlin, Sicily‚ Tirana and Riga. He has conducted most of the major UK orchestras and further afield‚ concert appearances have taken him to Aarhus‚ Adelaide‚ Amsterdam‚ Belgrade‚ Bilbao‚ Brisbane‚ Copenhagen‚ Detroit‚ Johannesburg‚ Lausanne‚ Lille and Perth. www.stonerecords.co.uk

ENDS

Artists: Mark Stone (baritone) & Stephen Barlow (piano) Disc: The complete Delius songbook – volume 1 Label: Stone Records Catalogue number/barcode: 5060192780062 Release date: 18 July 2011 Track Listing: 1. Twilight fancies 2. Young Venevil 3. Hidden love 4. The minstrel 5. The birds' story 6. Cradle song 7. The homeward way 8. It was a lover and his lass 9. So white, so soft, so sweet is she 10. Spring, the sweet spring 11. To daffodils 12. Over the mountains high* 13. Mountain life* 14. They are not long, the weeping and the laughter* 15. Little birdie 16. The nightingale has a lyre of gold 17. I-Brasîl 18. In the forest* 19. I once had a newly cut willow pipe* 20. Indian love song 21. Love's philosophy 22. To the queen of my heart 23. Slumber song 24. The nightingale 25. Summer eve 26. Longing 27. Sunset *première recording

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark Stone at Stone Records Ltd Tel: 07595 534350 Email: [email protected]