Canadian Art Song Project is proud to announce that Healey Willan: Summer Night and other songs for voice and piano has been nominated for a 2020 JUNO Award as Classical Album of the Year: Vocal solo recording. This is the first JUNO nomination for the organization since its founding in 2011 by artistic directors Lawrence Wiliford and Steven Philcox. The named artists for the nomination are baritone Peter Barrett, soprano Martha Guth, mezzo-soprano Allyson McHardy, and pianist Helen Becqué.
Devoted entirely to Healey Willan’s vocal solo song compositions, Summer Night features some of the composer’s most well-known and often performed songs, but also includes formerly unpublished gems that are now edited and published by Canadian Art Song Project and recorded here for the first time.
Willan always held his songs in high regard and believed that they deserved more attention. We can only imagine that this nomination will help reignite interest in his significant repertoire for solo voice and piano.
Summer Night is released through NAXOS distribution on the Centredisques label as part of the Canadian Art Song Project series. It is available on CD at the Canadian Music Centre and Amazon.ca. Digital copies are available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Spotify and most other digital and streaming services.
Other commercial releases by Canadian Art Song Project with Centredisques include:
ASH ROSES (2014), CLOUD LIGHT (2016), A PLAY OF PASSION (2016), and SING ME AT MIDNIGHT (2017).