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The exuberance and flair on display in the first concert of the season given by Chetham’s musicians made it a hard act to follow, but luckily both qualities were present in abundance in the vocal recital given on Friday 6th November by Erica Eloff (soprano), Håkan Vramsmo (baritone) and James Bailleu (piano). By common consent his was one of the outstanding vocal concerts of recent years, a view shared by all accounts with audiences in Rhyl and Ruthin who had heard the performers on the two previous evenings.

Erica Eloff, winner of a 2008 Philip and Dorothy Green Award, as well as the 2008 London Handel Competition, has a strong voice but also technique and musical sensitivity enough to be able to rein back her power and indeed deploy the most beautiful pianissimo. Swedish baritone Håkan Vramsmo proved equally subtle in his vocal range, and the warmth of his timbre was hard to resist. In their duets the two voices blended harmoniously, and both singers had theatrical presence enough to project their solo arias with character and conviction. The good humour and élan of these musicians’ presentation (a spirit transmitted also by their superb accompanist James Baillieu) played a large part in the evening’s success.

The core of the programme’s first half was taken from the German repertoire, with six Mendelssohn duets followed by nine songs from Hugo Wolf’s Italian Song-book. Oral introductions and printed translations helped listeners transcend the language barrier, and for many the melodic and harmonic genius of these two great composers (the former in his bicentenary year), in performances of distinction, will have been the high point of the evening. Folksong settings by Britten and two lyrical items by Purcell rounded off this half effectively.

Arias and duets from well-known operas and musicals made up the second part of the programme, in which there were even opportunities for the audience to sing (or at least hum) along. The ‘hwyl’ factor increased markedly as the evening wore on, and by the end the audience were reluctant to bring the entertainment to a close. Programming very well-known numbers has its risks, but these artists had the skill and spontaneity to give captivating renderings of favourites such as ‘Summertime’, ‘Toreador’ and Rusalka’s Song to the Moon’. Their performance will long be remembered.

Many thanks to J.S.Jones I.F.A. Ltd for sponsoring the concert, and to Making Music for their subsidy in support of Philip and Dorothy Green Award-winners.

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