John Matthew Myers & Myra Huang - John Matthew Myers: Desiderium - Barber • Griffes • Previn • Kander • Weill (2022) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Knoxville: Summer 1915, Op. 24
02. 3 Poems of Fiona Macleod: I. The Lament of Ian the Proud
03. 3 Poems of Fiona Macleod: II. Thy Dark Eyes to Mine
04. 3 Poems of Fiona Macleod: III. The Rose of the Night
05. 4 Songs for Tenor and Piano: I. Is It For Now
06. 4 Songs for Tenor and Piano: II. To Write One Song
07. 4 Songs for Tenor and Piano: III. Ad Infinitum
08. 4 Songs for Tenor and Piano: IV. The Revelation
09. A Letter from Sullivan Ballou
10. 4 Walt Whitman Songs: I. Beat! Beat! Drums!
11. 4 Walt Whitman Songs: II. Oh Captain! My Captain!
12. 4 Walt Whitman Songs: III. Come Up From the Fields, Father
13. 4 Walt Whitman Songs: IV. Dirge for Two Veterans

John Matthew Myers is rapidly in the ascendent. His debut album, "Desiderium", coincides with his Metropolitan Opera debut in Brett Dean’s Hamlet. "Desiderium" – "an ardent desire or longing, a feeling of loss or grief for something lost" – beautifully showcases Myers’ mellifluous voice. His thoughtful program of works by American and American émigré composers opens with Samuel Barber’s yearning Knoxville: Summer of 1915 – rarely heard sung by a tenor – and transitions to Charles Tomlinson Griffes’ similarly searching settings of 3 Poems of Fiona Macleod, and Andre Previn’s 4 Songs for Tenor and Piano.

What follows is A Letter from Sullivan Ballou, set to the words of a poignant letter by an American Civil War officer, by John Kander (of Kander and Ebb musical theatre fame). Rounding out the recital are 4 Walt Whitman Songs by German-born composer Kurt Weill, including the classic O Captain! My Captain!

John Matthew Myers says “Call me a big-hearted Romantic. Each song on this album conveys yearning, separation, loneliness or distance but also a sense of intimacy and longing for connection". It certainly does. "Desiderium" is an auspicious album.

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