Songs from two golden ages: Nicholas Mulroy, Elizabeth Kenny & Toby Carr in a recital of effortless beauty with song from 17th century England & 20th century Latin America

De Pasión Mortal: Songs from two golden ages; Henry Purcell, Claudio Monteverdi, Víctor Jara, Tomás Méndez, Silvio Rodríguez, Ariel Ramírez, Ñico Rojas, Rafael Hernández Marín; Nicolas Mulroy, Elizabeth Kenny, Toby Carr, Music for a While; LINN Records
Reviewed 9 August 2024

Combining 17th century European song with that from 20th century Latin America, Nicholas Mulroy and friends create a recital which seduces and engages, by turns lyrical and melancholy, yet always compelling

De Pasión Mortal: Songs from two golden ages on Linn Records features tenor Nicholas Mulroy in a recital that juxtaposes two very different, yet equally intimate song traditions, that of 17th century Europe (here England and Italy) and 20th century Latin America. Mulroy is joined by Elizabeth Kenny on archlute, guitars and theorbo, Toby Carr on guitars and theorbo, and Music for While (Margaret Faultess and Rachel Stroud, violin, Anna Curzon and Francesca Gilbert, viola, Andrew Skidmore, cello).

The recital features music by Henry Purcell and Claudio Monteverdi, alongside 20th century Latin American composers, Víctor Jara, Tomás Méndez, Silvio Rodríguez, Ariel Ramírez, Ñico Rojas, and Rafael Hernández Marín. Perhaps, at first, the combination might seem slightly unlikely, but all feature the same intimacy of a voice and one or two stringed instruments. The majority of tracks feature both Elizabeth Kenny and Toby Carr, though each gets an instrumental solo, and four tracks feature the instrumental ensemble Music for While as well.

We begin with the Chilean singer-songwriter and activist Víctor Jara’s Te recuerdo Amanda and from the word go it is apparent that Mulroy has immense sympathy for this music. Perhaps the performance style is not what you would find in Jara’s native land, but Mulroy and Carr really seduce, both with the beauty of tone, Mulroy’s attention to the words and a sense of overhearing a shared intimacy. Next comes Mexican composer Tomás Méndez’s Cucurrucucú paloma and the profound beauty of Mulroy floating his voice over the accompaniment of the two guitars. The way he caresses phrases is a shiver-making moment. 

Then we move to Purcell’s O! fair Cedaria performed by the same artists, the style might be different but the performance has the same virtues with the way Mulroy can spin line, and seduce. Then we add the five string musicians for Monteverdi’s Tempro la cetra, the richness of the instrumental palate offsetting the sweetness of Mulroy’s voice, though here the voice is largely declamatory, in contrast, with flurries of vivid ornament.

The Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez next (the only living composer represented on the disc) and the haunting melancholy of his Hoy mi deber. Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez’s Alfonsina y el mar, unaccompanied at first before developing into a complex and profound miniature.  Cuban composer and guitarist Ñico Rojas is represented by the guitar solo, Retrato de un médico violinista. 

Puerto Rican songwriter Rafael Hernández Marín’s Silencio is one of those songs that capture a certain spirit, the combination of melancholy with profound musicality and a certain catchy rhythm. Purcell’s In the black dismal dungeon of despair gives us a different, no less intense melancholy.

Rodríguez’s Óleo de mujer con sombrero and Ojalá bookend another instrumental solo, this time from Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, thus creating a fascinating sequence. We can hear distant linkages between Rodríguez’s handling of language and Purcell’s to intriguing effect.

There is a Purcell sequence next, with The Sparrow and the Gentle Dove providing us with Purcell setting words in a lyrical, melodic fashion, then an instrumental fantasia. By Beauteous Softness (from Now Does the Glorious Day Appear) features Mulroy seducing us again with a sinuous line over a moving bass including Andrew Skidmore’s cello. The final Purcell item on the disc sees Mulroy joining Carr and Kenny for An Evening Hymn, the sound of the two instruments providing a rich, yet delicately intimate support for Mulroy’s wonderfully fluid performance, one that manages to combine beauty of line with power of words. But the recital does not end there, we finish with the haunting passion Silvio Rodríguez’s La Gaviota.

Nicholas Mulroy has one of those voices that would seduce if he sang the proverbial shopping list, but here, he and the instrumentalist knit the apparently disparate voices into a recital which by turns seduces and engages, creating links and making you think of cross connections, and all threaded through with the shared intimacy of a voice and a couple of guitars.

De Pasión Mortal: Songs from two golden ages
Music by Henry Purcell (c.1659-1695), Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), Víctor Jara (1932-1973), Tomás Méndez (1927-1995), Silvio Rodríguez (born 1946), Ariel Ramírez (1921-2010), Ñico Rojas (1921-2008), and Rafael Hernández Marín (1892-1965)
Nicholas Mulroy (tenor)
Elizabeth Kenny (archlute, guitar, theorbo)
Toby Carr (guitars, theorbo)
Music for a While (Margaret Faultless, Rachel Stroud, Anna Curzon, Francesca Gilbert, Andrew Skidmore)
Recorded in St Mark’s Church, Old Marylebone Road, London, 7-8 January 2023
LINN RECORDS CDK746 1CD [72.43]