This is a fine new recording of aquatic-themed songs from Scottish mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor and English pianist Hamish Brown. The pair have performed together previously, and their easy rapport is evident throughout. Taylor, a finalist in the 2023 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, has quicky established herself as one of the most exciting young singers on the international stage, while Brown is an increasingly sought-after collaborative pianist.
The sheer loveliness of Taylor’s instrument is what strikes you first. Her dark, richly coloured voice has a full, resonant lower register and a surprisingly secure top. She has a nice agility across her range, but what distinguishes her as a promising talent is the variety of colour and dynamics she can locate within it. Her close attention to the text gives the performances captured here a sense of immediacy and ‘lived-in-ness’, each vividly characterised.
Brown proves an ideal partner for Taylor, demonstrating playing of notable commitment and delicacy. He responds imaginatively to the music and is adept at achieving subtle shifts in mood but isn’t afraid to unleash some powerful playing when called upon.
The program itself is thoughtfully assembled. First cab off the rank is the traditional song My Lagan Love (arrangement by Hamilton Harty), given an intimate account by singer and pianist. There’s a beautiful spoken feel to Taylor’s singing, and both performers bring a shimmering, hushed quality to the piece that feels very special indeed.
Both get to stretch themselves with the Schubert songs included here, which put forward three very different perspectives on the sea. Gruppe aus dem Tartarus conjures terrifying creatures from the deep, giving Taylor an opportunity to show off her powerful lower register and fine dramatic sense, while Brown finds a stirring mythical quality in the restless piano writing. Contrast this with the restraint they bring to Meeres Stille and Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren, which unfold with a quiet beauty.
The program also looks beyond established repertoire with the inclusion of Cameron Biles-Lidell’s The Breakers (2025), recorded here for the first time. Setting poems by Erasmus Henry Brodie and William Sharp, it presents another contrasting pair of songs that move from the tumult of a storm at sea to feeling of moonlight reflected on water. Taylor and Brown bring dramatic weight and intensity to the first song, before finding a more luminous, inward quality for the second.
The centrepiece, however, is Elgar’s Sea Pictures, which is performed here in Brown’s own arrangement for voice and piano. Taylor brings her full musical intelligence to bear here, finding emotion through her command of diction, colour and mood. The moving simplicity of In Haven is a highpoint, as is the otherworldliness singer and pianist bring to Where Corals Lie. Taylor’s splendid half tone is on particular display here, while her steadiness of line and control of the breath is evident across the board.
This is a wonderfully judged recital that makes the best possible case for both artists.
Title: The Deeps Have Music
Works: Songs by Elgar, Schubert, Cameron Biles-Lidell et al.
Performers: Beth Taylor ms, Hamish Brown p
Label: Linn CKD794
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