Joanna Songi, Matthew Fletcher - Imo - Art Song by Imogen Holst (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Three Songs: No. 1, The Willow
02. Three Songs: No. 2, The Fool's Song
03. Three Songs: No. 3, Exile
04. Four Songs: No. 1, Brittle Beauty
05. Four Songs: No. 2, Why Fearest Thou Thy Outward Foe
06. Four Songs: No. 3, Shall I Thus Ever Long
07. Four Songs: No. 4, As Lawrell Leaves
08. Ten Appalachian Folk Songs: No. 8, The Irish Girl
09. Ten Appalachian Folk Songs: No. 3, I Must and I Will Get Married
10. Ten Appalachian Folk Songs: No. 9, The Chickens They are Crowing
11. Ten Appalachian Folk Songs: No. 5, The Brisk Young Lover
12. Ten Appalachian Folk Songs: No. 6, Married and Single Life
13. Ten Appalachian Folk Songs: No. 2, Fair Sally
14. Ten Appalachian Folk Songs: No. 7, My Dearest Dear
15. Ten Appalachian Folk Songs: No. 1, The Lady and the Dragoon

Following the 2025 release of The Garland – Art Song by Elizabeth Maconchy, CRD Records is proud to announce its upcoming autumn recording: Imo – Art Song by Imogen Holst. Performed by soprano Joanna Songi and pianist Matthew Fletcher, and joined by violinists Julian Azkoul and Ellie Fagg and cellist Brian O’Kane, the album marks a major contribution to the rediscovery of one of 20th-century British music’s most vital yet overlooked compositional voices. Imo stands as a direct companion to Maconchy’s The Garland, furthering CRD’s ongoing commitment to the British Art Song tradition and celebrating past women composers whose extraordinary legacies are only now attracting due appreciation.

Though widely remembered for her work as Co-Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival, educator at Dartington, and amanuensis to Benjamin Britten, Imogen Holst (1907–1984) produced a body of original composition marked by startling economy, technical brilliance, and emotional intensity.