ALL WHO WANDER
debut solo album with pianist Brian Zeger
Winner of the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award
Nominated for International Classical Music Award
Shortlisted for Gramophone Classical Music Award
““That A-flat on this disc brings out something very special in Jamie Barton’s voice. The note retains the lush texture of the mezzo-soprano’s middle register, but with the ascent on high now lending the sound an extra edge of urgency: it sounds like she’s unleashing a torrent of passion. The extraordinary voice provides pleasure up and down its range – and throughout this recital.”
““Barton’s grand and rich voice is perhaps as big as Flagstad’s, Farrell, and Nilsson’s, with tone as beautiful and unforced as the first two singers’. Its compass extends from the bottom of the mezzo range to an easy, room-shaking high C. But as easily as Barton can envelop you with sound, she can also grab you by the gut, and propel you deep into the emotional heart of music’s great mysteries. It is the emotional depth of Barton’s artistry that sets her apart from other singers blessed with exceptional voices. She has the power to render you breathless and at her mercy. I expect that you, too, will marvel at how, as Barton expands her voice to huge proportions, her sound and heart also expand to encompass every emotion of a woman lost in memories of a great, lost love.””
““The voice is rich, generous and vibrant, big but beautifully controlled, impeccably smooth throughout its range. It’s the sort of instrument you could listen to all day, in any sort of repertoire. This really is an exciting talent, and a terrific disc.””
““Jamie Barton has one of the great voices in the world today. Sumptuous, flexible, and capable of light and shade, her sizeable mezzo pours forth seamlessly. Barton’s voice at full cry is thrilling to behold but the majesty of her instrument never overwhelms the songs. Her ability to lighten her tone, especially in the tricky upper middle voice, notably allows her to sing with expressive freedom. All Who Wander is everything a song recital should be. Delivering both familiar and unfamiliar fare in beguiling interpretations, Barton and Zeger take the listener into the world of each song with deft musicality and emotional sincerity.””
““No one who has heard Jamie Barton in action is in any doubt about the American mezzo-soprano’s gifts. She boasts an expansive, robust vocal sound, tinged with richly varied colors, and she deploys it with a distinctive combination of heroic power and tender intimacy. So the splendors of her debut release don’t exactly come as a surprise. But that hardly diminishes the joy of listening to Barton’s expressive, full-throated performances.””
““Barton’s voice is delicate throughout, a sound that the audiences are not accustomed to hearing in the opera house where her potent mezzo soprano exhilarates with its brilliance and forwardness.””
““She is emphatically her own artist. All Who Wander is a testament to Barton’s artistic individuality—and, equally importantly, to the depths of her talent. No, the Twenty-First Century has given us no Flagstad or Callas, but what a gift we have been given in Jamie Barton.””
““With a rich, opulent instrument that puts you in mind of the great Stephanie Blythe, she’s a thoughtful, dramatically attuned artist whose debut recording heralds great things. Avoiding the folksy preciousness of other singers, she relishes the composer’s bold, full-blooded rhythms, but also knows when to pull back to achieve an understated beauty. A sensitive musician as well as a vivid communicator, Jamie Barton is one to look out for.””
““A rising star, Barton seems as comfortable on the concert platform as the opera stage. In these art-songs admirable throughout is Barton’s alluring tone and gorgeous phrasing. My highlight is Mahler’s magnificent Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, a multi-faceted score full of world-weary introspection. In this intensely melancholic writing, Barton communicates a real sense of yearning to moving effect, which felt extremely spiritual. The text that aches with emotion in Um Mitternacht (At midnight) is enchantingly sung, maintaining an intense expression that adds to the dream-like quality of the writing and concludes with a sense of resignation.””
““Barton is the most important American mezzo-soprano since Stephanie Blythe, another phenomenon capable of singing everything, and very well. Instead of Bellini’s Adalgisa and Wagner’s Fricka, which are her calling cards on opera stages around the world, the singer opted for a more intimate and very demanding repertoire. Barton has been given a voice and that abundance of means could betray her; fortunately those fears are unfounded. Her instrument is a column of generous, opulent sound that dominates to the point of allowing her to completely abandon herself to the chosen material in order to concentrate on the interpretation.””
““We listened to All Who Wander on a rainy afternoon in London; Barton’s singing is just as much a warm hug on a cold day as it is a refreshing breeze in the heat.””
“To hear for yourself the musical force of nature Barton is, there’s an astounding set of Sibelius songs. In my mind I’ll probably always hear “Svarta rosor” in Flagstad’s voice, but when Barton lets loose with it, memories of Flagstad flee.”
““Perhaps the song on the record which encapsulates best what Barton can do is Sibelius’ “Säv, säv, susa”. She conveys its arched structure from repose to violence and back again with real conviction, and the final long vowels are unbelievable.””
““Jamie Barton seems now to be the equal of any dramatic mezzo before the public. The great element which has enabled her rise to stardom is, of course, her voice-large, rich, fully controlled. She is one of the few singers who can delight an audience simply by the sheer beauty of her voice. Nowhere is this beauty more evident than here. She and Zeger communicate exactly the proper mood of each song, whether boisterous and fun-loving or quiet and reflective. Barton produces some exquisite soft singing, with amazingly steady sustained tones [and] she emphasizes the drama of the situation with great variations in dynamics, from her beautiful soft singing to exciting forte passages. But it is the opening section of Mahler songs that makes this recording stand alone – Ms. Barton’s glorious sound reinforcing the emotions surely felt by any sensitive listener. These are some of the most beautiful recordings I have ever heard. Anyone who loves the human voice should own this.””
““Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder...communicated Barton’s willingness to venture into the depths of emotional emptiness. I sat mesmerized by her instrument and artistry, hanging on every note.””