SHEARING Songs and Sonnets from Shakespeare

Born in Britain, Sir George Albert Shearing OBE (1919 - 2011) was a jazz pianist whose style blended swing, bop, and modern classical influences. Despite being blind from birth, his musical talent was recognised early on, and he eventually moved to the United States after WW2, where his fame continued to grow. During the 1980s and 1990s, he developed an interest in choral music and wrote two cycles of Shakespeare settings for choir, piano, and double bass: Music to Hear (1985) and Songs and Sonnets from Shakespeare (1999). Despite the texts being some 400 years old, Shearing’s settings make them fresh and are an unexpected delight.

GEORGE SHEARING Selections from Songs and Sonnets from Shakespeare
Applause 0:00
I. Live with me and be my love 0:31
II. When daffodils begin to peer 3:18
III. It was a lover and his lass 5:11

Singapore Symphony Youth Choir
Wong Lai Foon, Choirmaster
Evelyn Handrisanto, piano
Jacek Mirucki, double bass

Recorded live at the Victoria Concert Hall, Singapore, on 25 February 2024.
Cover: Lesbia and her Sparrow, by Edward Poynter (1836–1919).
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