Charles Daniels is an English tenor, particularly noted for his performances of baroque music. He is a frequent soloist with The King's Consort, and has made over 25 recordings with the ensemble on the Hyperion label.[1]
His concert and recording repertoire extends from the Middle Ages to 20th-century composers such as Luigi Nono and Benjamin Britten. In December 2001, he was the tenor soloist in a performance of Wojciech Kilar's Missa pro pace, performed in the Vatican in the presence of Pope John Paul II.[6] However, he is best known for his interpretations of baroque music, and in particular for the role of Evangelist in the St Matthew Passion and the St John Passion by J. S. Bach. In 2016 he was being considered as "probably the world's best Evangelist".[7] Daniels has made frequent concert appearances at Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms in addition to performing frequently in both European and North American music festivals.
His opera performances have included Purcell's The Fairy-Queen at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the New York City premiere of Lully's Atys and the title role in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo for its Montreal premiere at the Montreal Baroque Festival; the festival subsequently released a recital disc with Daniels singing excerpts from L'Orfeo and songs by John Dowland and other composers of the period.[8] He also won praise for his singing in the role of 'An Attendant on Pleasure' for the Hyperion recording of Handel's operatic oratorioThe Choice of Hercules.[9]
He was for sixteen years a member of the early music vocal ensemble the Orlando Consort.[10]
In addition to conducting master classes at the Montreal Baroque Festival, Daniels teaches early music performance practice at the Ringve Museum's International Summer Course in Norway.[11]
Recordings
Daniels has made over 80 recordings as a soloist, including:
John Gay: The Beggar's Opera (Bob Hoskins, Ian Caddy, Adrian Thompson, Charles Daniels, Sarah Walker, Richard Jackson, Anne Dawson, Roger Bryson, Ian Honeyman, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, The Broadside Band, conductor Jeremy Barlow) Hyperion CDA66591/2
Orfeo Fantasia – excerpts from Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and songs by Dowland, Monteverdi, Hume, Caccini, and Guédron (Charles Daniels, Montreal Baroque ensemble) ATMA SACD22337
Sweet Stay Awhile – John Dowland songs & lute pieces (Charles Daniels – tenor, David Miller – lute) EMI Classics CDZ 7243 5 72266 2 2
Purcell: The Complete Odes and Welcome Songs Volumes 1–8 (Mark Kennedy, Eamonn O'Dwyer, James Goodman, Susan Gritton, James Bowman, Nigel Short, Rogers Covey-Crump, Charles Daniels, Michael George, Choir of New College Oxford, King's Consort, conductor Robert King) Hyperion 44031/8
The Earliest Songbook in England – Medieval secular and religious songs (Catherine King, Stephen Charlesworth, Charles Daniels, Leigh Nixon, Gothic Voices, Conductor: Christopher Page) Hyperion 67177
Marc-Antoine Charpentier : Vêpres aux Jésuites, H.536, H.204, H.361, H.203–203a, H.225, H.32, H.208, H.35, H.160–160a, H.67, H.78. (work reconstructed by Catherine Cessac, Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, Charles Daniels, Mark Tucker, Hans-Jürg Rickenbacher, Peter Harvey, Stephan Imboden, Natacha Ducret, Ensemble baroque L'Arpa Festante conducted by Michel Corboz. 2 CD Cascavelle VEL 1030 (1993)
References
^Discography, Hyperion Records (accessed 2 October 2007)
Reviews of two performances by Charles Daniels and The Bach Players in London and Birmingham, (March 2004) in Early Music Review, The Church Times, and The Birmingham Post. Reprinted on The Bach Players web site. (accessed 2 October 2007).
