Hume: Passion & Division
The First Part of Ayres—Captain Humes Musicall Humors (1605)

Susanne Heinrich’s first solo release for Hyperion was a deliciously atmospheric award-winning disc of music by Abel. She continues her exploration of the world of the viol with this fascinating selection of works by the English composer Tobias Hume. Hume is a paradoxical figure: sometime mercenary solider and popularly described as a dilettante, the suggestive titles of some of these pieces reinforce that picture—a picture that is belied by the music itself. Many of these works show a deep understanding of pure, translucent emotion, as if to take a magnifying glass straight to the core of one’s feelings. A sense of melancholy and sadness, enhanced by Heinrich’s sympathetic playing, entices the listener into a world of dark enchantment.

CDA67811  70 minutes 34 seconds
‘Her playing is full of insight, and, most important, deep affection for this most idiosyncratic composer, beloved by all bass viol players … one cannot fail to be stimulated … the sound is ...
‘From this old soldier I didn't expect touching intimacy, warm tenderness and real emotional introspection, but Heinrich finds it all and conveys it with such love and admiration that it's hard not to ...
‘Among the most substantial and profound pieces in this collection is Captain Humes Pavan, in which Heinrich is poised and unhurried, yet reliantly flowing both in terms of her musical ideas an ...