Critics’ Choice 2023

“… The songs of Müller-Hermann and Schweikert are a welcome discovery and are performed so well that I hope this recording will lead to more. They have done us a service in introducing us to two unjustly neglected composer…”

Performance ****      Recording *****

“… Her [Whately] easy rapport with the sounds of sung-German – matched by Middleton’s silky pianistic sorcery illuminates at every turn…”

“… Throughout Whately and Middleton prove highly persuasive guides; the pianist bringing the accompaniments vividly to life and the mezzo fully committed to the works and impressive, in particular … This is a very welcome album and one that anyone interested in late-Romantic lieder will want to hear.”

“… This is a beautifully shaped and considered programme and for all the subject matter, the intelligent performances and the two performers' wonderful communicability make it a delight to listen to. They convey the beauty of the lesser-known songs and bring out the lovely sense of shifting harmonies and tonal instability that is characteristic of the period, the sense of being on the brink.”

“… the programme is well balanced and admirably performed… Whately’s ability to trace the drama of each song, whether in powerful climax or drawing back to a whisper, makes this an absorbing journey, with Middleton a poised and incisive co-traveller…”

Editor’s Choice – February 2023

“…Kitty Whately is on luminous form in lieder by Gustav Mahler, Johanna Müller-Hermann, Richard Strauss and Margarete Schweikert…”

“…Whatley's ability to portray the message so communicatively lifts the words of each song from the score. The anguish of many of the lieder is sensitively portrayed and Whatley’s upper register captures the starkness of grief and bereavement. Middleton’s accompaniments are sensitive and delicate creating the intimacy needed for reflection and he produces the right timbre for each piece. Together, their performances are profound as they explore such heart-breaking themes.”

“… This is a very rewarding album. The programme has been well designed by the artists and they execute it marvellously. I enjoyed Kitty Whately’s expressive and communicative singing very much indeed and in Joseph Middleton she has a musical partner with whom she is clearly ‘as one’; theirs is a perceptive partnership. The Strauss and Mahler items are very successful but, for me, the great dividend is the opportunity to discover and appreciate the songs of Joanna Müller-Hermann and Margarete Schweikert. Both are composers of genuine worth … I hope very much that the fine advocacy of Kitty Whately and Joseph Middleton will win the songs new admirers and will prompt a revival of interest in these two composers; it is nothing less than they deserve…”