Helen Charlston is alto soloist in our upcoming performance of Handel Messiah at the York Early Music Christmas Festival. Acclaimed for her musical interpretation, presence and “warmly distinctive tone” (The Telegraph), Helen is quickly cementing herself as a key performer in the next generation of British singers. Helen won first prize in the 2018 Handel Singing Competition and was a finalist in the Hurn Court Opera Competition. She was a Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment 2017-2019 and is a 2018 City Music Foundation Artist.
I have indeed sung Messiah lots of times - in fact singers often colloquially refer to the run up to Christmas as 'Messiah Season'! That said, I never get tired and one of the most wonderful things about it as a piece is that each time you sing it something will be different, or there will some new about the way it effects you. I often find myself marvelling at the way my different colleagues respond to the different arias they sing - bring to light different meanings in the text, or just clearly feeling that resonates with them more as a person. It's always a treat!
How do you prepare for performing for this kind of concert?
Each time I return to a piece like Messiah, I try to come right back down to the text that I am singing and approach the notes with a new eye. Each time you come back to a piece like this, you'll discover your brain has been ruminating on it and even if you haven't thought about it which is lovely. I also listen to the recordings I like, and surround myself with the whole piece (not just my bits) and check out to see if there are any new recordings out that I haven't listened to before.
What is your musical guilty pleasure?
Probably accompanying myself (very badly) on the piano whilst singing along to anything I can get my hands on, but if it's been a particularly crazy week you'll find me bashing out some of my disney favourites. Fortunately we have some sound proofing in our flat.
Is there any piece of music or repertoire that haven’t had the opportunity to perform yet but would like to?
There are so many! The Dream of Gerontius by Edward Elgar has to be pretty high up the list. It's such an awesome piece, and I can't wait to get to sing the Angel's Farewell one day.
When you’re not practising or performing, how else do you like to spend your time?
If I am lucky enough to discover my fiance is in the same country as me (he's also a singer, so sometimes our diaries get the better of us), then anything that involves spending time with him! At the moment we're planning a wedding so that takes up lots of our down time, but I also love long walks in London and further field, drinking far too much coffee and settling down with a good book.
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| Helen Charlston photographed by Benjamin Ealogeva |
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
There'd be a few musicians for sure: Barbara Strozzi, JS Bach, Dmitiri Shostakovich and Kathleen Ferrier would be at the table - that would be quite some conversation. I'd also like to invite my great-grandmother, who I had heard so much about and was evidently a powerhouse of a woman and I would so loved to have known her.
We look forward to hearing Helen as soloist in Handel Messiah with Yorkshire Bach Choir and Yorkshire Baroque Soloists conducted by Peter Seymour. Vocal soloists include Bethany Seymour (Soprano), Gwilym Bowen (Tenor) & Gareth Brynmor John (Bass).
The concert takes place on Saturday 14 December starting at 7pm at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York.
In association with York Early Music Christmas Festival.
Tickets for the concert are selling quickly so book now to avoid disappointment >>> http://bit.ly/YBMessiah
Further details about Helen can be found at https://www.helencharlston.com/
