Sandrine Piau disc awarded 4 stars in Opera Now!

Sandrine Piau: Between Heaven and Earth

★★★★

Well, I don't know if a soprano should be bothering her head with metaphysics, but if it gives Sandrine Piau the excuse to sing Handel's 'Sweet bird', 'Tu del ciel', 'As steals the morn' and 'Convey Me to Some Peaceful Shore', inter alia, go for it, sister. This is, of course, a beautiful disc - because of what's on it, and the words of Milton, Dryden, Morrell and others - but also how it is presented. She doesn't have the biggest voice - 'Let the Bright Seraphim' is a little weak - but it is focused, ethereal and wonderfully expressive, and she puts more meaning into her English than many natives. The small Academia Bizantina accompanies her, directed with understated sophistication - except for a wilful Queen of Sheba - by Stefano Montanari, with a nice line in twangling harp and lute and a slightly over-engineered brilliance to the violins. A lovely, rapt contemplation.

RT