Catherine King and Jacob Heringman have made numerous appearances and broadcasts
together throughout Europe and America.
Their four duo CDs (on ASV and Linn) have all been met with critical acclaim.
Their latest release, Madrigals by Verdelot, with tenor Charles Daniels, was
launched with a concert at London's Wigmore Hall. Heringman is also a renowned
soloist.
Catherine and Jacob have also recorded for Naxos (with The Rose Consort of Viols),
Riverrun (with The Marini Consort) and for Virgin (with Virelai).
In addition to performing lute songs of the Renaissance and early Baroque
periods, the duo has championed the cause of the contemporary lute song,
attracting several new commissions by British and American composers, including
Malcolm Bruno, Andrew Keeling and Peter Sinfield (of King Crimson).
"As one might expect, this recording is a thing of great beauty, subtly chosen
and blended by performers of impeccable pedigree and virtuosity. Catherine King
has a voice that many singers would die -- or even kill -- for. It is absolutely
flawless, stunningly accurate, and its quality has uniformity across the range
that would make any other singer spit. She is well paired with Jacob Heringmans
equally subtle and artful playing."
- Julia Craig-McFeely, Early Music Review, May 1999
". . . I have enjoyed and praised Jacob Heringman's playing in previous ensemble
recordings, so I am pleased to hear his work at greater length here. The focus
of the collection is the vocal works, but Heringman intersperses them with
Mudarra's tientos and fantasies, and there is an extended set of works for the
guitar as well. Heringman displays a solid and effortless technique; the music
flows beautifully, and has a natural shape that doesn't sound mannered.
Heringman inclines toward the introspective, rather than the extroverted. Mezzo
Catherine King. . . allows the text to come forth with clarity. Her diction is
superb, and care has been taken to achieve the right period pronunciation for
the Spanish texts, with a Spanish tinge given to the Latin as well. The famous
Coplas por la muerte de su padre by Jorge Manrique, the leading Spanish poet of
the late fifteenth century, are exemplary. . . and the listener is drawn into
the telling of the poetry. One would welcome the whole poem, if King were
reciting it. . . . The sound is superb. Highly recommended."
- Tom Moore, Fanfare, 1997"
The Mudarra of Catherine King and Jacob Heringman is fresh, direct, and worth seeking out.
- Tom Moore, Goldberg Magazine's list of the best early music CDs of 1997