The Fabulous Sir John Rachel Speirs, Linda Merrick, John Turner, Peter Lawson, Victoria String Quartet

• Adam Gorb (b. 1958): Aria for Sir John:
• 1 Gorb: Aria for Sir John 03:58
• John Manduell (1928 - 2017): Elegy for String Quartet (2020 Version):
• 2 Manduell: Elegy for String Quartet (2020 Version) 08:21
• Recitative & Aria for Violin & Viola:
• 3 Manduell: Recitative & Aria for Violin & Viola 05:32
• 3 Chansons de la Renaissance:
• 4 Manduell: 3 Chansons de la Renaissance: No. 1, Mignonne, allons voir si la rose 03:26
• 5 Manduell: 3 Chansons de la Renaissance: No. 2, D'un vanneur de blé aux vents 02:51
• 6 Manduell: 3 Chansons de la Renaissance: No. 3, À sa dame malade 01:52
• Bell Birds from Nelson:
• 7 Manduell: Bell Birds from Nelson 02:53
• Nocturne & Scherzo for Clarinet & String Trio:
• 8 Manduell: Nocturne & Scherzo for Clarinet & String Trio 11:31
• Tom's Twinkle:
• 9 Manduell: Tom's Twinkle 01:46
• Michael Berkeley (b. 1948): A Dark Waltz:
• 10 Berkeley: A Dark Waltz 04:52
• William Alwyn (1905 - 1985): Songs of Innocence:
• 11 Alwyn: Songs of Innocence: No. 1, The Ecchoing Green 02:15
• 12 Alwyn: Songs of Innocence: No. 2, Spring 01:14
• 13 Alwyn: Songs of Innocence: No. 3, The Divine Image 03:46
• 14 Alwyn: Songs of Innocence: No. 4, Laughing Song 00:59
• 15 Alwyn: Songs of Innocence: No. 5, Nurse's Song 04:16
• Richard Stoker (1938 - 2021): Memento Mary Magdalene, Op. 84:
• 16 Stoker: Memento Mary Magdalene, Op. 84 06:02
• Total Runtime 01:05:34

Info for The Fabulous Sir John

Sir John Manduell was a key figure in British music - as composer, BBC producer, first director of the Northern Royal College of Music and founder of the European Opera Centre. Beloved and revered by musicians, his name is shamefully little known outside the music and broadcasting industries.

This album is a sequel to "Songs for Sir John", which presented works by 16 composers from more than a generation in honor of Sir John. This new album presents music by Sir John himself, as well as William Alwyn, Michael Berkeley, Adam Gorb, and Richard Stoker, all well-crafted works that not only provide much enjoyment, but may inspire musicians to include them in their repertoire.

Even without the Manduell connection, this is a wonderfully assembled program of new chamber and vocal music. The performers, like Sir John, are based in and around Manchester, England, a dynamic "hotspot" for fine musical creativity.

Rachel Speirs, soprano
Linda Merrick, clarinet
John Turner, recorder
Benedict Holland, violin
Kim Becker, viola
Jennifer Langridge, cello
Peter Lawson, piano
Victoria String Quartet

Rachel Speirs
Scottish Soprano Rachel Speirs is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music where she won the Betty Bannerman Award for French Song 2020, the Joyce and Michael Kennedy Award for the singing of Strauss in 2019 adjudicated by Sir Simon Keenlyside, and was a finalist in the Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Prize in 2020 adjudicated by Dame Ann Murray and Sarah Tynan. ​

In 2021-2022, Rachel sang the role of Lotty with Retrospect Opera for their recording of G.A. MacFarren's The Soldier's Legacy alongside baritone Quentin Hayes, tenor Joseph Doody, and mezzo-soprano Gaynor Keeble. Rachel also joined the Chorus of Opera North in various projects, and sang with English Touring Opera Chorus for their Spring 2022 mainstage tour as well as the Soprano roles in How To Find Your Name, an opera for SEND audiences. Other recent engagements include Brahms Requiem with Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, recording William Alwyn's Songs of Innocence with the Victoria String Quartet, recordings with the Northern Film Orchestra, Bach B Minor Mass with Southport Bach Choir, 'Discovering Lieder' workshops in primary schools with Leeds Lieder, and creative workshops for people with dementia with SoundUp Arts. In Summer 2022, Rachel will join the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company in Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, and Utopia Ltd. ​

In 2020 Rachel sang the role of Maria Bertram in Mansfield Park conducted by Nicholas Kok and directed by Stephen Barlow, and was due to join Grange Park Opera and Wexford Festival Opera for their Summer seasons. Rachel continued to create and share music throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and collaborated digitally with companies including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Clonter Opera, Random Opera, and SoundUp Arts to create recorded performances, participatory music resources, digital workshops, and online live concerts. In January 2021 Rachel was appointed Co-Director of SoundUp Arts CIC and continues to work in this role alongside her performing career. In July 2021 Rachel sang Mrs Nordstrom in A Little Night Music for Buxton International Festival.

Earlier operatic engagements include Voice of a Bird The Pilgrim's Progress conducted by David Parry, Suor Osmina Suor Angelica with Martin Andre, and Mustardseed A Midsummer Night's Dream for RNCM Opera, as well as Papagena/cover Pamina The Magic Flute for Flat Pack Music . Rachel has also performed Second Lady and Second Spirit Die Zauberflöte, Mary Hildebrand Street Scene, excerpts as Aminta Il re pastore and Rose Lakmé, and Chorus for Cosi fan Tutte and The Merry Widow at the RNCM. Other Chorus appearances include Carmen and Madame Butterfly with Heritage Opera, and The Rake’s Progress directed by Stephen Unwin and Don Giovanni directed by James Hurley for British Youth Opera.

Rachel sings regularly in recital and on the concert platform, and has been praised particularly for her interpretation of German Lieder. Recent concert engagements include Haydn's The Creation, Handel's Messiah, Gounod's Messe Solennelle, Vivaldi's Gloria, and Bach's Weihnachts -Oratorium. Recent recital highlights include a recorded recital of French Song with pianist Robin Humphreys in the Clonterbrook Music Room, regular appearances in the Haddon Hall lunchtime recital series, a concert featuring the music of Janacek at The Lake District Summer Festival with Paul Nilon and Louise Winter, and performances of Schubert's Der Hirt auf dem Felsen with pianist Caroline Clemmow and clarinettist Linda Merrick, principal of the RNCM. Rachel premiered John Joubert’s final work for the voice ‘Remember’ alongside the Villiers Quartet and recorderist John Turner at the William Alwyn Festival in Blythburgh in 2018. This was closely followed by a performance of works by John Manduell, William Alwyn, Peter Crossley-Holland, and Thomas Pitfield as part of a celebration concert for the late founding principal of the RNCM, Sir John Manduell. Rachel recently recorded Manduell's Trois chansons de la renaissance with pianist Peter Lawson for Divine Art Records.

Booklet for The Fabulous Sir John