Arthur Sullivan: Songs for Tenor [CD]

In this debut recording of songs, arias and duets from tenor David Webb, composer Arthur Sullivan emerges as both a figure of Savoy theatre Polish, and as a composer of clarity and restraint. Drawing on years of experience with this repertoire, the artists bring an ease that feels instinctive and assured. With the Academy of Ancient Music, this is the first recording of Gilbert and Sullivan on period instruments, offering a sound closer to that heard in Victorian drawing rooms, concert halls and band stands than the modern pit. Textures open out, the words carry with directness, and Sullivan's craft is newly apparent across three decades of his career. What results is rediscovery: a return to the scale, colour, and immediacy Sullivan's audiences would have known. Across three decades, from early sacred works to late opera, his craft is heard afresh, with lyricism and wit.