Nicky Spence & Dylan Perez by Various, vr. 01 apr 2022, Van (2022/2022), La Monnaie, Brussel, België

Upon the street they lie Beside the broken stone: The blood of children stares from the broken stone. Death came out of the sky In the bright afternoon: Darkness slanted over the bright afternoon. -- The Children (Benjamin Britten / W. Soutar) Composer Benjamin Britten’s Who are these Children? is a heart-rending indictment of the violence and horrors every war inflicts on children. At a time when children's blood is once again staring out at us from the debris of war on the European continent, Nicky Spence and Dylan Perez open their recital with this haunting cycle. Sadly, some of the songs could pass as live news coverage today. Yet the Scottish tenor and the American pianist also want to provide perspective. Inspired by their own collaboration, they acknowledge what happens when cultures do come together. The programme celebrates Scottish and American poets and composers, as well as the two musicians’ own roots, through themes such as childhood, loss of innocence and ecstatic love.