“Stylistically and tonally, the blend was sensational.” The Independent
“The Prince Consort represents everything that is fine about young music makers in this country.” Sir Thomas Allen, Patron
The dynamic Prince Consort comprises five singers and a pianist, all of whom are drawing major international attention for their solo endeavours. Brought together by their love of singing this repertoire, Anna Leese, Jennifer Johnston, Andrew Staples, Jacques Imbrailo, Tim Mead and Alisdair Hogarth are a compelling combination. Their debut album “Ned Rorem – On an echoing road” will consolidate their success and establish them as a celebrated ensemble.
Ned Rorem is one of the most widely-recorded living American composers, who Time Magazine called "the world's best composer of art songs".
Ned Rorem – On an echoing road features songs that are lyrical, beguiling and unaffectedly simple, intriguing, melodic and intimate. They have echoes of French, English and American song repertoires whilst being distinctively Ned Rorem.
The Prince Consort will be giving the official European premiere of Ned Rorem's masterpiece song cycle 'Evidence of things not seen' at the Oxford Lieder Festival in October 2009 to coincide with the album launch.
New York magazine called ‘Evidence of Things Not Seen’ "one of the musically richest, most exquisitely fashioned, most voice-friendly collections of songs I have ever heard by any American composer".
The Prince Consort is fast emerging as a fresh, exciting and versatile ensemble. Their performances are characterised by wide-ranging programmes and polished presentation, which showcase different combinations of voice and piano, from solos to small groups in piano-accompanied song.
The singers in the Prince Consort are each award-winning and critically acclaimed performers in their own right and create a beautifully balanced blend together.
The Prince Consort received a rave review from Anna Picard in The Independent, for their 2009 Wigmore Hall debut: “...a vivid, compelling performance.”
Alisdair Hogarth (piano) is the regular partner to many of his generation’s finest young artists and made his concerto debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 15. Alisdair is the regular pianist for Amici Forever, Nicky Spence, Katherine Jenkins and The Choirboys.
“The more one hears of Rorem's songs, too, the more intriguing they seem...The performances catch every drop of that naturalness, too; the disc may only scratch the surface of Rorem's songwriting (over 600 settings to date) but it crystallises its essence perfectly.” The Guardian, 19th November 2009 ****
“…this is a most attractive disc. The Prince Consort comprises five singers still young, clear and intelligent in their way with words, and their pianist-director, Alisdair Hogarth. Unusually they have a countertenor in their midst, the excellent Tim Mead, who shares the title-song, a duet, with Anna Leese, and has two of the best solos. South African baritone Jacques Imbrailo is also noteworthy: the recording brings out the individual timbre of his voice, and to him goes what I still find best of the songs, "Early in the morning".” Gramophone Magazine, February 2010
“All five singers have clearly grasped the importance of Rorem's text-based conception of song, 'poetry as expressed through the voice' and they sing - albeit in resolutely English English which can sometimes jar in Rorem's settings of poems by fellow-Americans - with an unforced lightness which brings the words to the fore.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 ****
Gramophone Magazine
