Susan Bickley is one of the most accomplished mezzo-sopranos of her generation, with a wide repertory encompassing the Baroque, the great 19th and 20th century dramatic roles, as well as contemporary repertoire. In May 2011 she received the prestigious Singer Award at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, the highest recognition for live classical music in the UK. She has performed widely in opera, concert and recital roles, and recorded extensively. Claire Booth, soprano, a leading light of the contemporary classical music scene, is internationally renowned both for her commitment to an extraordinary breadth of repertoire, and for the vitality and musicianship that she brings to the operatic stage and concert platform. Andrew Matthews-Owen is among the most sought-after collaborative pianists of his generation, with a passionate commitment to contemporary music, regularly appearing in concert, and on commercial recordings with some of the finest classical artists of our time.

Following their acclaimed collaboration in Percy Graingers Folk Music, soprano Claire Booth and pianist Christopher Glynn turn to the Lyric Music of Edvard Grieg, an apt sequel as the elder composer befriended Grainger- who idolized the Norwegians folkloric idiom- immediately on their first encounter in London in 1906. Interspersing intimate vocal miniatures with lyrical solo piano pieces, Claire and Christopher mirror many of the programmes that Grieg and his wife Nina performed on their many recital tours together. Each of the works on Lyric Music tells a story as does the album as a whole ranging in mood from bright, youthful innocence to shades of autumnal twilight. Sung in the original Norwegian, Claires and Christophers performances are as evocative as Norways varied landscape.