Light fantastic: Mary Bevan, ‘Visions Illuminées’

It’s always a delight to come across an album so richly crafted and ingeniously programmed, you get an overwhelming sense that you’re hearing something intensely personal, a snapshot of what the artist wants to say ‘right now’. ‘Visions Illuminées’ feels like one of those records. Soprano Mary Bevan has featured on numerous recordings, but on…

Orchestra of the Swan Glides into Old Street

It’s Thursday night and the bars and pubs in Shoreditch are lit up and pumping out music into the cold November air.  I have come to an album launch of Stratford-Upon Avon-based Orchestra of the Swan. It’s an edgy venue at Kachett, under the railway arches in Old Street. Half of the musicians have travelled up to London…