Classical review: William Berger & Iain Burnside, Paxton House, Berwick-Upon-Tweed

HE WISHED he could claim it was a sleepless night, joked baritone William Berger, that had inspired the collection of songs he had entitled Insomnia, the focal point of his gripping recital in the sumptuous surroundings of Paxton House.

But he hinted that there was an autobiographical slant to his eclectic gathering of vocal works by Mozart, Debussy, Vaughan Williams, Wolf and others, which together told an enigmatic story of vain hopes and lost loves from nightfall through to dawn.

The sincerity of his performances certainly bore out that personal connection – Berger sang boldly from the heart, and the miniature dramas he conveyed clearly had intimate meanings for him. In Schubert’s Auf der Bruck, he brilliantly captured the churning obsession of a horseman making a desperate journey to see his beloved, who he knows will reject him. And his breathtaking, otherworldly performance of Richard Strauss’s famous Morgen! teetered between heavenly bliss and the deepest grief.

Berger is the real deal, his smooth, chocolatey baritone matched by a searching intellect and a sense that he’s prepared to bare his soul in his vivid characterisations. His tonal control was a joy to hear – though when he really let rip, the somewhat unforgiving acoustics of the Paxton Picture Gallery meant that his powerful voice lost some of its beauty.

Scots-born Iain Burnside, pianist to countless song recitals, was a supple and supportive presence throughout, and their traversal of Schumann’s op.39 Liederkreis in the first half combined turbulence with unbridled joy.

Rating: ****