For her second release on Delphian, Helen Charlston re-balances an obsession with female abandonment and lament in the 17th century. The stories of women such as Dido and Ariadne have been told and re-told throughout history, as Greek myths and ancient tales dealt with the reality of war and high mortality rates on the women seen to be ‘left behind’ by male adventure and success.
Battle Cry (Owain Park CMF commission, 2020) considers this stance in the 21st century, giving so-called ‘abandoned women’ a platform for their own voice. What would they say today? It also illuminates the voice and theorbo as a modern-day musical pairing, a less-explored idiom in contemporary chamber music than one would expect.
Helen Charlston and Toby Carr breathe a new life into this instrumental combination and let the battle cry of women throughout the centuries resound.
