FAVELLA LYRICA
"I doubt anyone who had never heard Favella Lyrica could imagine what they do, or how well they do it: We've never heard anything quite like the duet singing of Pamela Murray and Pamela Dellal." |
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FAVELLA LYRICA GROUP BIOGRAPHY
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Favella Lyrica made its debut appearance in September, 1990, to rave reviews. Favella Lyrica means "lyric speech" and the ensemble aims to capture the communicative power of its chosen repertoire, the vocal chamber music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Favella Lyrica has an impressive array of concert programs including familiar and rarely-heard works of Monteverdi, Handel, Purcell, Schütz, and Couperin, as well as other composers. Their programming has been universally praised for its variety and imagination (see below). Brilliant guest artists often augment the forces of the ensemble, expanding the range of repertoire available to them. Its three members, Pamela Murray, soprano, Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano, and Michael Beattie, harpsichord, have a wide range of performing experience, with repertoire spanning the 12th to the 20th centuries. Their collective credits include: the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Emmanuel Music, Sequentia, the Dallas Bach Society, Opera Company of Boston, the Banff Festival of the Arts, the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Mozart/Da Ponte operas directed by Peter Sellars. Their three CDs: "Sweet Torment," featuring music of 17th century Italy and Germany; "Blind Love, Cruel Beauty: Vocal Duets of G.F. Handel" ; and "A New Sappho: Barbara Strozzi and Nicolò Fontei" have received impressive critical response. Favella Lyrica has been featured on several prestigious concert series around the US, including the Cape May Music Festival, the BEMF series and the FleetBoston Celebrity Series. The ensemble records for KOCH International Classics. |
WHAT THE PRESS SAYS...
..."I doubt anyone who had never heard Favella Lyrica could imagine
what they do, or how well they do it: We've hever heard anything quite
like the duet singing of Pamela Murray and Pamela Dellal."
The Boston Globe
..."marvelous duets...that require dramatic declamation, precision of
tuning, long-spanning breath and virtuoso feats of athletic vocalism. Until
yesterday, I had never heard anyone sing as fast as Beverly Sills...but
Sills was not caroling along in thirds with someone else, like Murray and
Dellal."
The Boston Globe
.."It was an enjoyable, satisfying concert...Murray and Dellal achieved
just the right mix of blend and friction to give their sound an extra spin...the
musicianship was keen...one half wanted to stop passing strangers on Newbury
Street to tell them about it."
The Boston Globe
"...an ensemble so dexterous and elegant that one takes it for granted..."
The Boston Globe
"...positively fizzed with the energy and interest of risks taken and
risks surmounted..."
The Boston Globe
"...world-class performance...stunning artistry"
The Weston Crier
"Murray and Dellal make a glorious combined sound, their voices blending
deliciously in the many passages of elaborate figuration."
The Boston Globe
"Both women have excellent stage presence, and together they are irresistible.
Years of performing as a duo has given them a second sense about phrasing...and
the pleasure in the audience was infectious and pervasive."
The Boston Herald
The trio's...concert offered the kind of bel canto fireworks that would
be rare in any music capital of the world."
The Boston Herald
"The program was carefully planned...all of the shadings, humor and
technical agility were performed flawlessly by Favella Lyrica."
The Carlisle Mosquito
"Among the recordings of [the Handel chamber duets]...this is the best...the
simple competence and unaffected joyousness of the performances are most
refreshing."
Fanfare Magazine
"These singers are virtuosic and nicely matched...well rehearsed, with
some impressively synchronized rubato...High standard of expertise...evident
passion for the expressive qualities of this music."
Early Music Review (UK)
"Highly skilled and imaginatively conceived."
The Ottawa Citizen
"Among the recordings of [Handel’s chamber duets] we have had lately,
this is the best, for both the quality of the performances and the appeal
of the selections...the simple competence and unaffected joyousness of
the performances are most refreshing...once I started listening, I couldn’t
stop."
Fanfare Magazine
"Pamela Murray and Pamela Dellal are both accomplished singers, well
able to tackle the divisions cleanly. Murray has a good ring to her
soprano, and plenty of brightness and weight; Dellal, who sings as both
soprano and alto, offers a pleasantly full and mellow lower and middle
register but also tackles notes above the treble stave surely."
Gramophone
"fine voices, good technique, and a comfortable sense of style...they
deliver a program that is...quite attractive in its own terms. Handelians
will not want to miss this release."
American Record Guide
"...altogether captivating album...the combination of the performers'
fiery enthusiasm and the composer's passionate settings ...is irresistible."
The Denver Post
"Favella Lyrica has produced a sure hit with this...exemplary performances..."
H & B Recordings Direct