Layla Claire / Marie-Ève Scarfone SONGBIRD

"It is important for me to come back to art song as often as I can to hone my musicality and work in more detail as well as connect more intimately with my audience," explains soprano Layla Claire, whose 2016-17 calendar has been dominated by opera: Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Montreal, Zurich) and Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (Philadelphia).

Her debut recital album, Songbird (due out June 2 on ATMA Classique), has given her not only the art song fix she craves, but also an opportunity to collaborate with pianist Marie-Ève Scarfone, whom Claire describes as "a terrific musician and a joy to work with. Her personality is pure sunshine, which was a perfect match for the repertoire we chose."

The recording sessions took place in Salle Françoys-Bernier at Domaine Forget in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. "We recorded it there because of [the] terrific facilities and acoustics. The region was beautiful and inspiring — we had an incredible view of the St. Lawrence River. We walked along the beach and through the spectacular colours of the autumn forest between recording sessions."

Claire describes Songbird as a “sound garden — songs that we loved and thought worked well together,” rather than a collection built around a specific theme. “They are songs that are nurturing, cosy and charming,” she continues. “I wanted a CD that I could imagine someone putting on and listening to at home with a cup of tea."

The first song they selected was Ernest Chausson's "Dans la forêt du charme et de l'enchantement" — "unsettling, unusual and beautiful," says Claire — and they built the rest of the program around it: songs in three languages and spanning three centuries, from Henry Purcell's "Music for a While" to Dominik Argento's "Spring," by way of Gounod, Brahms, Wolf, Fauré, Britten and others.

"I added Barber's 'St. Ita's Vision' last," she notes of the lullaby from Hermit Songs, "as I was coming toward the end of my pregnancy and could start imagining rocking and nursing my little one."

Max Emanuel Cencic / Armonia Atenea / George Petrou HANDEL Arminio

A number of recent DECCA recordings of Baroque repertory have benefited from the playing of Armonia Atenea and the conducting of George Petrou, but their work in this "Arminio" sets new standards for performances of Händel's operas . . . the orchestra's efforts serve as a catalyst to the opera's drama, not just an accompaniment . . . a whirring, invigorating performance that honors the best elements of historically-informed performance practices without compromising listeners' enjoyment with the acerbic sounds, faltering intonation, and exaggerated rhythms that constitute the worst aspects of period-appropriate methods . . . The singers truly perform the opera: in recitatives, here rendered as engagingly as on any recording of a Baroque opera, they seem to listen to one another, something that too few singers bother to do even in staged performances. Whether the music being sung is by Händel or Henze, opera is a team sport. With Max Emanuel Cencic and George Petrou as its co-captains and a team of all-stars playing all positions, this "Arminio" never misses an opportunity to score. (Joseph Newsome)