This single track is drawn from Albion Records ALBCD059 – Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music - Exploring the Sixteen Singers Chosen for the First Performance. This great work was written in 1938 to celebrate 50 years of conducting by Sir Henry Wood’s, founder of The Proms. The first performance, and recording, was given by sixteen singers who had worked over the years with both Henry Wood, and the composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams. The album, released on 22 March 2024, explores those sixteen singers through solo or duet recordings, painting a picture of how this combination of voices came about. The works on it range from popular song to grand opera, and of course, the 1938 recording of Serenade to Music is included. All tracks have been remastered for the album, from original 78 rpm discs, by Peter Reynolds. Heddle Nash (1894-1961) was born in South East London and won a scholarship to Mercers School. In the First world War he enlisted in the 20th London Regiment and, like Vaughan Williams, saw active service in France and Salonika. He was wounded and invalided out of the Army, leaving him severely traumatised; luckily he was able to continue his musical studies. Nash had success in December 1925 with Rigoletto at the Old Vic. He joined BNOC in 1926 and first appeared at the Proms, to good effect, on 16 August 1927. Heddle Nash sang with a smooth, supple legato, along with a flexible, lyrical tone. His voice had great charm and was ideally suited to bel canto roles. His high notes were effortless, and he had a sure understanding of the text of his chosen repertoire, always showing considerable musicianship. Nash also had an impressive physical bearing on stage. Robert Easton (1898-1987) was born and educated in Sunderland. He joined the British Expeditionary Force in 1915, at the age of just 17, and was severely wounded in Flanders, having a leg amputated. Subsequently he studied with Harry Plunket Green and, later, with Dinh Gilly. By 1926, he had appeared at the Proms where he sang Mendelssohn’s ‘I am a Roamer’, an aria that was often demanded as an encore from Easton. Robert Easton was a versatile singer with a resonant, colourful, dark voice. He was a true basso profundo, singing down to a low B flat. His acting was highly expressive, aided by his imposing presence, and his diction was excellent. These qualities are evident in Heavenly Vision from Act I of Charles Gounod’s Faust, first seen in Paris in 1859. Loosely based on Goethe’s play, Faust, an old, lonely, and despairing philosopher, laments his wasted life and decides to summon the devil, Méphistophélès, to whom he reveals his longing for youthful excess, love, and feverish pleasure. Satan can grant these wishes only if Faust signs away his soul. When the old man hesitates he is shown a vision of Marguérite; Faust is enthralled and quickly agrees to the pact. The devil gives Faust a potion to drink that immediately transforms him into a young man. This recording of ‘Heavenly Vision’, a memorable duet between Faust and Méphistophélès, features a dark toned Robert Easton alongside a sweet-voiced Heddle Nash, all under Sir Thomas Beecham’s stylish direction.