James Gilchrist as tenor and Anna Tilbrook on piano is a delightful musical pairing, and they present themselves with elegant yet comfortable professionalism.  Their contribution concert to Shakespeare400 was recorded in LSO St. Luke’s as a part of BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts.  The venue is ideal for performing Shakespeare-inspired music as it is both classical and modern.  It retains a nostalgic character with the church’s high ceiling and expansive windows illuminated by modern wooden décor.  The space alone creates a glittering experience, further enhanced by Gilchrist’s and Tilbrook’s musicality. 

Perhaps the most impressive element of their performance is how they approach the difficult task of portraying four separate compositions of ‘Take, O take those lips away’ from Measure for Measure.  Gilchrist and Tilbrook convey each composer’s individual interpretation of the song with an impressive range of emotional variation.  Their expressions—both musical and physical—change fluidly between the pining of Ralph Vaughan Williams, the more sensual Peter Warlock, the bright desperation of Hubert Parry, and the resignation of Madeleine Dring.  Another notable aspect of the performance is how the musicians play with instrumental and vocal onomatopoeia. 

In Thomas Arne’s ‘Where the bee sucks’, Tilbrook creates bee-like textures on the piano through careful strokes which are well matched by Gilchrist’s beautifully subtle vibrato.  He loses no tonal quality when making the hee-haw sounds of a humorous yet charming ass from Hugo Wolf’s ‘Bottom’s Dream (Lied des transferierten Zettel)’.  Tilbrook and Gilchrist are equally skilled in sounding the more obscure Shakespearean moods.  In Hubert Parry’s ‘When icicles hang by the wall’, Gilchrist alternates between crisp diction and round held vowels that leave you with a resonating chill before the concert’s final compositions. 

Anna Tilbrook and James Gilchrist’s splendid tribute to Shakespeare will be broadcast by BBC Radio 3 on 29 April and will be followed by more BBC performances in the Shakespeare400 lineup.