In deluxe box with booklet, Melba presents an amazing tribute to the great Australian voice hardly heard beyond its shores. Recordings from the 1960s and '70s have been restored and remastered making CD 1 of solo recitals (Greig, Hageman and Strauss) accompanied by pianist Geoffrey Parsons and CD 2 of opera, oratorio and lieder with various Australian orchestras.
Grant won the Mobil Quest in Australia in 1957 and other honours. She had a lustrously bright lyric soprano voice suited to Mozart, Richard Strauss and Wagner roles in opera and won overseas offers (including Bayreuth) she could have taken up. Sound excellent on CD 1, fair on CD 2 with original tapes from rehearsals, backstage, AM radio broadcasts and even a hand-held recorder. A vocal treat!
Highlight: Grieg's Solveig's Song, Wagner arias.
This is the fifth studio album released by the Christchurch-based violin and viola soloist, accompanied by a band of nine musicians (including her husband Ian Tilley on piano and keyboards.) They play Pears' own compositions. Part of this disc was recorded on the day of the city's February 2011 earthquake and Calm After the Storm was written as a sequel to that event.
Theatre Royal Overture was performed in the theatre before the venue suffered severe quake damage.
Mr Barnaby Jackson is written for Pears' pet dog. Pizzicato Rumba and Cathedral Tango get spirited performances, as does the soloist's own arrangement of Monti's famous Czardas. The eight other original numbers are light and less lively, including a jazzy arrangement of pop song Them There Eyes.
Highlight: Original music with popular beats.
