Sophie Daneman . Christianne Stotijn . Joseph Breinl

'What can we poor females do?', is the lament in the first song by Purcell which begins this recital. Sing, for a start! The English soprano Sophie Daneman is known especially as a baroque specialist, but is also very much at home in the Lieder repertoire. And you will surely want to hear the Dutch mezzo Christianne Stotijn, whose performances at deSingel you have previously enjoyed. Together with the pianist Joseph Breinl, Daneman and Stotijn are devoting themselves to the rich repertoire of vocal duets. Originally these were intended for cosy music-making in domestic circles. The status of the genre has gradually been raised. The duets by Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms assumed the style of a fully-fledged artistic song, arranged for the concert hall. The songs by the underestimated Max Reger are real gems too. And the 'Moravian duets' by Dvorák are among the most beautiful songs in the genre.