Rowan Hellier mezzo-soprano; Sholto Kynoch piano

The rising star Scottish mezzo leads the celebration of International Women’s Day with a programme of works by contemporary female composers. The first woman to hold the post of Master of the Queen’s Music is represented by a collection of four songs (2003). Austrian Olga Neuwirth contributes settings from 2005, originally conceived for countertenor, while livewire Kate Whitley brings a recent minidrama setting a poem by Hollie McNish: The Observer hailed the result as ‘a hymn to friendship, particularly that between women united since childhood.’