Catalogue

Summary:

“Emily Van Evera succeeds marvellously … an impressive cast of musicians … musical portraits are seldom more attractive than this” – Fabrice Fitch, Gramophone (September 2005)

“Magnificent… This is a majestic program from start to finish — beautifully conceived and executed. Emily Van Evera’s voice seems perfect” — American Record Guide

“Exquisitely wrought album from Emily Van Evera and her seasoned collaborators … a stand-out recording” — Classic FM Magazine

“A rich tapestry of miniatures … balanced to perfection” — The Independent

“Van Evera’s voice is enchanting … A wonderful and unique disc”. — Anna Picard, Independent on Sunday

“Intensely moving and touching…of the highest order … strongly recommended”. — Fanfare

“Van Evera’s dynamic contrasts are riveting, as are the purity and power of her voice” — BBC Music Magazine

“Emily Van Evera is such a fine singer … luxuriate in [her] singing and the fine playing of the all-star instrumental support” — Barnes & Noble

“An inspired idea … a vivid and touching portrait”. — The New York Times

“A beautiful album… with a strong poetic and historical interest”. — James Fenton, The Guardian

“Exquisite … first-rate”. — Early Music Today

“An outstanding collection… of unusual quality and beauty … consummately performed” — Renaissance

“the quality of the musicianship makes this recording a must” — Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

“Emily Van Evera’s outstanding performance movingly charts Lady Rich’s descent from stoical resignation to black despair in the passionate intensity” — The Daily Telegraph, Classical CD of the Week, 4 June 2005

“brilliantly put together and performed, creating a satisfying and illuminating portrait … Emily Van Evera’s singing is expressive and touching” — Lute News

‘a magnificent recording.’ — Goldberg

Soprano Emily Van Evera is an uncommonly versatile singer. Her luminous voice blends sense with sensuousness, and can sound at once tender and thrillingly beautiful. Fittingly, Van Evera’s inspiration for this recording is Lady Penelope Rich, a “heart-stealing goddess” who was sister to the Earl of Essex, muse to poets and musicians and the devoted mistress to Lord Mountjoy. She also inspired some of the finest music by composers of Elizabethan England.

The music on My Lady Rich ranges from the Shakespearean (How should I your true love know – from Hamlet, a mad song of Ophelia’s, the tragic character to whom Lady Rich’s predicament has been likened), to the Spanish Vuestros ojos (Lady Rich was famously fluent in Spanish), from the spirited (Hampton Court Masque in which Lady Rich took part in 1604) to the sorrowful (And is it night, a nocturnal yearning for a lost lover).

Emily Van Evera has won international acclaim for her numerous ground-breaking and award-winning recordings, particularly of earlier repertoire. Her chart-topping CD of the music of Hildegard von Bingen was singled out by The Gramophone for her characteristic expressivity: “the sheer power of the words comes across nowhere else as strongly as in Van Evera’s performance.”

Tracklist:

ANONYMOUS / WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564–1616)
1. How Should I Your True Love Know (00:28)

ROBERT JONES (fl. 1597–1615)
2. O He Is Gone (02:28)
3. And Is It Night? (03:50)

JOHN DOWLAND (c. 1563–1626)
4. Mr Dowland’s Midnight (01:00)

WILLIAM BYRD (c. 1540–1623)
5. Weeping Full Sore (06:26)

JOHN DOWLAND
6. My Lady Rich’s Galliard (01:52)

ANONYMOUS
7. Hampton Court Masque (02:05)

JOHN DOWLAND
8. Come When I Call (01:53)

CHARLES TESSIER (fl. 1600)
9. Casche Toy, Celeste Soleil (03:16)
10. Au Joly Bois (01:58)

ANONYMOUS
11. Vuestros Ojos (01:17)

CHARLES TESSIER
12. Reveillez Vous, Belle Cattin (02:35)

ANONYMOUS
13. Corranto Lady Riche (01:17)

WILLIAM BYRD
14. In Fields Abroad (04:28)

ANONYMOUS
15. My Little Sweet Darling (01:14)
16. A La Volta Mistress Lettice Rich (00:32)

JOHN BARTLET (fl. 1606–1610)
17. Surcharged With Discontent (01:19)
18. The Thrush Did Pipe Full Clear (03:40)
19. Then Hesperus On High (01:28)

ANONYMOUS
20. Sweet Stay Awhile (01:44)
21. A Toy (01:01)

ANONYMOUS / WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
22. He Is Dead And Gone, Lady (00:31)

ANTHONY HOLBORNE (c. 1545–1602)
23. The Funerals (04:17)

JOHN COPRARIO (d. 1626)
Funeral Teares
24. Oft thou hast (2:49)
25. O sweet flower (2:50)
26. O th’unsure hopes of men (2:30)
27. In darkness let me dwell (5:26)
28. My joy is dead (4:17)
29. Deceitful fancy (2:30)
30. Foe of mankind (2:32)

Total time: 74:35

Emily Van Evera, soprano
Christopher Morrongiello, lute

Voices: Caroline Trevor (alto); John Potter (tenor); Daniel Norman (tenor); Michael Dore (bass)
Viols: Richard Campbell; Susanna Pell; Reiko Ichis; Asako Morikawa; Susanne Heinrich
Lynda Sayce (bass lute, bandora); Jacob Herringman (cittern)
Emily Van Evera (recorder); Lucy Carolan (virginals)

Recorded March 1997 and October 2003 at St Andrew’s Church, Toddington, Gloucestershire, UK
Produced and engineered by Nicholas Parker | Mastered by Adrien Hunter and Suki Towb

℗ & © 2005 Heartsease Productions under exclusive licence to Avie Records