‘A willingness to take risks, however, has always been integral to [Clayton's] singing, and the dividends are often enormous … there are also wonderful moments of lyrical reflection, though, and the way he sings ‘Du bist wie eine Blume’ with a poised mezza voce is breathtaking. Drake, meanwhile, invests every phrase with weight and meaning, and is, as ever, outstanding. Another fine disc in an exceptional series’ (Gramophone)
‘The quieter moments of these songs show Allan Clayton's voice at its best: smooth, tender and altogether alluring: the performance of 'Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh' is worthy both of the music and of Goethe's famous poem … the performers are alive to the drama in many of these songs’ (BBC Music Magazine)
PERFORMANCE RECORDING
‘Everything Clayton has is at the expressive service of Liszt and his poets, and the whole recital is a fine addition to Hyperion's complete edition of Liszt songs’ (BBC Record Review)
‘Pianist Julius Drake’s survey of the complete songs reaches its fifth volume with this recital by English lyric tenor and vocal actor Allan Clayton, mainly featuring the late songs from Liszt’s Weimar years (1848-61). The disc opens with two contrasting settings of Goethe’s ‘Freudvoll und leidvoll’ and other highlights include ‘Die Lorelei’, a reflective ‘Du bist wie eine Blume’, the brilliance of ‘Comment disaient-ils’, and the challenging ‘O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst’. The haunting ‘Ich möchte hingehn’ resembles the opening motif of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and it is claimed that Liszt wrote it ten years before Wagner started work on Tristan in 1857. Allan Clayton is in fine voice and Drake is outstanding in this latest edition of Hyperion’s exemplary series’ (New Classics)
‘To sum up my reactions to this latest issue in the Liszt cycle: it is a fascinating disc with some of the best of his songs in, very often, extremely beautiful readings and with a willingness to penetrate the dramatic possibilities that is praiseworthy. There is a freshness of approach that is stimulating, Julius Drake accompanies in a manner that Liszt himself would have admired—and there isn’t a dull phrase in the whole recital. And we shouldn’t forget Susan Youens’s excellent liner notes. As usual they add a lot to the enjoyment of the individual songs. This series certainly goes from strength to strength’ (MusicWeb International)
» More‘Clayton is on communicative form, essaying the many moods with a beguiling sense of spontaneity and with every word telling. His ability to sing ethereally and lightly is a distinct asset as is the capacity to darken the tone and bring a sense of wild urgency to passages. The programming is clever, too, in presenting different versions of the same verse’ (Classical Source)
