Reviews
Hebrides Ensemble/Jane Irwin at Queens Hall, EdinburghSarah Urwin Jones (November 2008)
On a Bonfire Night whose squibs were dampened by miasmic mizzle, the Hebrides Ensemble launched their November tour of headily obscure modern miniatures and offerings from the string quartet and mezzo canon — assisted by a lustrous Jane Irwin — to a disappointingly empty Queens Hall.
Chester Festival: Elgar Celebration @ Chester Cathedral
Robert Beale - 27/ 7/2007
Manchester Evening NewsThe substance of the concert was in Elgar’s setting of Psalm 48 (‘Great is the Lord’) - which is not his greatest achievement but was lent distinction by Marcus Farnsworth’s refined baritone solo – and his Sea Pictures and The Music Makers, with Jane Irwin the inspiring mezzo-soprano soloist.
She has sung both of these, memorably, in Manchester with Mark Elder and the Halle Choir, and her approach – particularly in The Music Makers – matched that of James Burton well.
CD Review, from Amazon
- Composer: Edward Elgar
- Conductor: Sakari Oramo
- Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
- Audio CD
- Number of Discs: 2
- Format: DualDisc
- Label: CBSO
- ASIN: B000SG7Z2M
The recording of the Dream of Gerontius, as with the Enigma Variations, is outstanding in many ways.
The orchestral sound coaxed by Oramo from the CBSO is rich and thrilling, aided by the quality of the recording, and the chorus proves yet again that they are one of the best around.
You're unlikely to find this work better sung, all the more impressive considering the break-neck speeds that Oramo sometimes adopts.
The soloists are more hit and miss. Peter Rose sings solidly, but Jane Irwin's is the stand-out performance, singing with a beautiful simplicity that stands comparison with the best interpretations of the past.
The recording of the Dream of Gerontius, as with the Enigma Variations, is outstanding in many ways. The orchestral sound coaxed by Oramo from the CBSO is rich and thrilling, aided by the quality of the recording, and the chorus proves yet again that they are one of the best around.
You're unlikely to find this work better sung, all the more impressive considering the break-neck speeds that Oramo sometimes adopts. The soloists are more hit and miss.
Peter Rose sings solidly, but Jane Irwin's is the stand-out performance, singing with a beautiful simplicity that stands comparison with the best interpretations of the past.
Hebrides Ensemble, Jane Irwin
By Pat Napier - Posted on 14 August 2007
Venue:
Queen's Hall
Performers:
Jane Irwin (mezzo soprano); Hebrides Ensemble, William Conway (Artistic Director)
The first morning concert of the International Festival's 2007 Bank of Scotland Series got off to a sparkling start with an absolutely gorgeous recital.
The ever-popular mezzo Jane Irwin, sleek and svelte in an elegant back gown, joined the first combination of our own innovative, exciting Hebrides Ensemble, also black-clad - possibly a little sombre, perhaps to match the thrust of the programme. Not at all, as it turned out, for the whole force of the recital was entirely on the music and the words, with absolutely nothing to distract from that.
Dido and Aeneas/Prima la musica, poi le parole
By Iain Gilmour - Posted on 04 September 2007
Venue:
The Usher Hall
Production:
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan (Conductor); SCO Chorus, Mark Hindley (Chorus Master)
Performers:
Purcell: DIDO AND AENEAS. Jane Irwin (Dido); Sarah-Jane Davies (Belinda); Roderick Williams (Aeneas); Jennifer Johnston (Sorceress); Reno Troilus (Mercury); Kate Valentine (Second Woman); Nathalie Montakhab (First Witch); Catherine Rogers (Second Witch); James Geer (Sailor) Salieri: PRIMA LA MUSICA, POI LE PAROLE. Neal Davies (Maestro); Roderick Williams (Poet); Giselle Allen (Eleonora); Gillian Keith (Tonina)
Jane Irwin was on top form as Dido, supported throughout by her thoughtful, devoted handmaiden Belinda (Sarah-Jane Davies). Irwin gave an impeccable performance. Once Powerful and furious, Dido left the audience emotionally drained with her dying aria "Darkness shades me". This brief opera was a musical jewel in the 2007 festival, with performers and a production worthy of further exposure.
St Matthew Passion – The Bach Choir
sung in an English translation by Neil Jenkins
Evangelist – James Gilchrist
Christ – Paul Whelan
Carolyn Sampson (soprano), Jane Irwin (mezzo-soprano), Timothy Robinson (tenor) & Roderick Williams (baritone)
The Bach Choir
Florilegium
David HillSouthbank Centre, London – Royal Festival Hall
Sunday, March 09, 2008Jane Irwin impressed with her diction and superb projection, which had no hint of being forced. Her voice had a warm, velvet texture that heartened the more grief-stricken passages, such as her (first) melancholic aria in Part One where she pleads to Jesus to “hear our crying”. When Jesus is arrested the soprano and mezzo sang a glorious duet, stricken with grief. It was here that the interjections of the chorus were vivid, too.