An Angel Descends: Susan Bullock’s new recording of the Wesendonck Lieder is welcomed by Malcolm Miller

This new recording of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, by Susan Bullock with Malcolm Martineau, is a welcome addition to the vast discography available, and an original contribution in its stimulating programming within the context of 19th- and 20th- century love songs by Strauss, Prokofiev, Britten, Quilter and Rorem. Susan Bullock is one of the leading British Wagnerian singers, with extensive experience both of the Ring (including recently the Canadian Opera Company) and of Tristan und Isolde. This raises one’s expectations of her interpretation of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, which occupy a special place in the history of the Romantic Lied on account of their intimate connection to the genesis of Tristan.