Csányi-Wills: Songs with Orchestra

Featuring

Mark Eager
Ilona Domnich
Jacques Imbrailo
Nicky Spence
Chris McKay
Londamis Ensemble

Michael Csányi-Wills

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Composer's Artistic Vision

The composer's settings of A. E. Housman's poems aim to highlight a darkness he felt was not always present in earlier musical interpretations by other composers.

Compositional Technique

The composer chose to translate the original Hungarian texts of 'The Siege' and 'The Last Letter' into German, partly because most singers are trained in German and it was an official language in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Composer Biography

Michael Csányi-Wills, the composer, developed his passion for composition through studying with Nigel Clarke after immersing himself in piano repertoire from Bach to Widmann.

Composer Biography

Michael Csányi-Wills serves as the Head of Composition at the World Heart Beat Academy, an organization that supports young musicians and provides scholarships.

Composition History

The 'Three Songs: Budapest, 1944' were inspired by a letter found among the composer's grandmother's belongings, written by her mother before disappearing in October 1944.

Historical Context

The 'Waldsee' Postcard, a song in the 'Budapest, 1944' cycle, refers to Gestapo propaganda during World War II where captives were forced to send postcards home, falsely claiming they were safe in an Alpine resort.

Composition History

The 'Six A. E. Housman Songs' originated from a conversation with baritone James Robinson-May, who asked the composer to set three poems from A. E. Housman's 'A Shropshire Lad'.