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A Thousand Charms
Various composers

Grace Davidson

A Thousand Charms

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Signum Classics
UPC: 0635212096024
Catnr: SIGCD 960
Release date: 16 January 2026
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1 CD
€ 19.95
Preorder
 
Label
Signum Classics
UPC
0635212096024
Catalogue number
SIGCD 960
Release date
16 January 2026
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
EN

About the album

A Thousand Charms invites listeners into two centuries of English song, from Campion’s intimate ayres to Purcell’s theatrical masterpieces and Handel’s deeply expressive arias. The programme traces how solo song evolved from lute-inspired simplicity to richly ornamented drama, blending poetry with music of striking clarity and depth. Grace Davidson’s pure, agile voice and Julian Perkins’s sensitive harpsichord accompaniment bring freshness and immediacy to this repertoire, emphasising its refinement, inventiveness and humanity. For anyone drawn to the beauty of early music, this recording offers an engaging journey through some of its most timeless works.

Artist(s)

Grace Davidson

‘Light, bright, agile and pure are all words that have been used to describe Grace Davidson’s voice. Yet beneath the gleaming surface of her crystalline sound and pinpoint technical accuracy lie rich reserves of emotional intelligence and expressive artistry. The British soprano's vocal and intuitive armoury en- able her to project the vivid contrasts of mood at the heart of her favourite Medieval, Renaissance & Baroque repertoire with near-divine ease, especially so in the works of Hildegard von Bingen, Mon- teverdi, J.S. Bach, Handel and Vivaldi.’ Her discography includes over a decade of recordings, many of which feature her as a soloist: Handel’s Jephtha, Acis and Galatea, Sliente venti, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Pianto della Madonna, The Lutheran Masses of J. S. Bach and the works...
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‘Light, bright, agile and pure are all words that have been used to describe Grace Davidson’s voice. Yet beneath the gleaming surface of her crystalline sound and pinpoint technical accuracy lie rich reserves of emotional intelligence and expressive artistry. The British soprano's vocal and intuitive armoury en- able her to project the vivid contrasts of mood at the heart of her favourite Medieval, Renaissance & Baroque repertoire with near-divine ease, especially so in the works of Hildegard von Bingen, Mon- teverdi, J.S. Bach, Handel and Vivaldi.’ Her discography includes over a decade of recordings, many of which feature her as a soloist: Handel’s Jephtha, Acis and Galatea, Sliente venti, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Pianto della Madonna, The Lutheran Masses of J. S. Bach and the works by Purcell, Vivaldi and other Baroque composers, to name a few. She has also recorded solo discs with music by Hildegard von Bingen and John Dowland.
Her singing in Fauré’s Requiem (with The London Symphony Orchestra and Tenebrae Nigel Short) was reviewed on BBC Radio 3 by Richard Morrison quite simply ‘Grace Davidson’s Pie Jesu is matchless.’ Grace has also forged fruitful relationships with many contemporary and film composers such as Joe Hisaishi, Harry Gregson Williams, Hanz Zimmer, Howard Shore and Eric Whitacre, but most notably Max Richter who chose her as the solo voice in his 8 hour piece ‘Sleep’ which has been performed all over the world, including Sydney Opera House and The Great Wall Of China. Davidson, born in Lon- don, caught the singing bug during infancy and, after a short spell as a trainee chef, set the foundations for her career as a scholarship student at London's Royal Academy of Music.


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Composer(s)

Press

Play album Play album
01.
If music be the food of love
02:24
(Henry Purcell) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
02.
Sweeter than Roses
03:12
(Henry Purcell) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
03.
I attempt from Loves Sickness
01:53
(Henry Purcell) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
04.
The Indian Queen, Z. 630, Act 4: They Tell Us That Your Mighty Powers
04:40
(Henry Purcell) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
05.
Suite No. 7 in D Minor, Z. 668: I. Almand, very slow
04:41
(Henry Purcell) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
06.
Suite No. 7 in D Minor, Z. 668: II. Corant
01:38
(Henry Purcell) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
07.
Suite No. 7 in D Minor, Z. 668: III. Sarabande
01:17
(Henry Purcell) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
08.
Suite No. 7 in D Minor, Z. 668: IV. Hornpipe
01:38
(Henry Purcell) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
09.
Never weather-beaten sail
02:12
(Thomas Campion) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
10.
Author of Light
03:00
(Thomas Campion) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
11.
Where The Bee Sucks
02:13
(Thomas Arne) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
12.
Judith, Act II: “Sleep, gentle Cherub! Sleep descend”
03:01
(Thomas Arne) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
13.
Harpsichord Sonata No. 5 in B Flat Major: I. Poco largo
01:42
(Thomas Arne) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
14.
Harpsichord Sonata No. 5 in B Flat Major: II. Gavotta
02:14
(Thomas Arne) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
15.
A Hymne to God the Father
02:43
(Pelham Humfrey) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
16.
Sabina has a thousand charms
02:35
(John Blow) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
17.
Lovely Selina
03:02
(John Blow) Julian Perkins, Grace Davidson
18.
Belinda’s pretty pleasing form
01:17
(John Eccles) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
19.
Semele, Act II Scene 2: “O sleep, why dost thou leave me”
03:21
(George Frideric Handel) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
20.
Semele, Act III Scene 2, Air: “My racking thoughts by no kind slumbers freed”
02:49
(George Frideric Handel) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
21.
Semele, Act III Scene 4: VI. “I Ever Am Granting”
01:41
(George Frideric Handel) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
22.
Ah! How sweet it is to love
04:06
(Henry Purcell) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
23.
An Evening Hymn on a Ground, Z. 193
04:41
(Henry Purcell) Grace Davidson, Julian Perkins
show all tracks

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