Louise Alder and Joseph Middleton (Photo courtesy of Askonas Holt)
Louise Alder, the “bewitching young soprano, whose rise to success has deservedly been rapid,” (The Financial Times) has appeared to acclaim at the BBC Proms and the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, and London Handel Festivals. Her Wigmore Hall recital with regular collaborator Joseph Middleton centers women composers including Libby Larsen’s song cycle setting final letters or gallows speeches by five of Henry VIII’s six wives Try Me, Good King.
Watch Louise Alder perform the aria “Da tempeste” from Handel’s Giulio Cesare from the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.
Playlist
Amy Beach (1867-1944): 3 Browning Songs Op. 44
The year’s at the spring
Ah, Love, but a day!
I send my heart up to thee!
Clara Schumann (1819-1896): 3 Lieder, Op. 12
I. “Er ist gekommen”
III. “Warum willst du and’re fragen”
II. “Liebst du um Schönheit”
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918): Selections from Clairières dans le ciel
I. “Elle était descendue au bas de la prairie”
VIII. “Vous m’avez regardé avec toute votre âme”
V. “Au pied de mon lit”
VII. “Nous nous aimerons”
VI. “Si tout ceci n’est qu’un pauvre rêve”
Alma Mahler (1879-1964): Laue Sommernacht A. Mahler: Ich wandle unter Blumen A. Mahler: Licht in der Nacht
Libby Larsen (b.1950): Try Me, Good King: Last Words of the Wives of Henry VIII
I. Katherine of Aragon
II. Anne Boleyn
III. Jane Seymour
IV. Anne of Cleves
V. Katherine Howard
Louise Alder, soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano
Download the PDF program and translations here. This concert was recorded on March 21, 2022 in London’s Wigmore Hall, and is available to WFMT listeners thanks to the European Broadcasting Union.