Hailed by The Daily Telegraph as ‘a voice of real distinction’, Nicky Spence possesses unique skills as a singing actor and a rare honesty of musicianship, all of which has earned him a place at the top of the classical music profession. Admired in particular for his interpretation of the music of Janáček, he has appeared worldwide in the composer’s operas. Performing here with the outstanding pianist Dylan Perez, he presents a varied programme of Czech and Slovak art song. Béla Bartók found his lifelong enthusiasm for folk music sparked whilst on holiday in Slovakia in 1904, when he heard a nursemaid singing. Village Scenes sets five folksongs from a large Slovakian collection published in 1915, and depicts various aspects of a country wedding. Jaroslav Křička became a central figure in Czech musical life, occupying the posts of chorus master of the Czech Philharmonic and professor of composition at the Prague Conservatory, amongst others. His Three Fables are settings of traditional fairy tales. Vítězslava Kaprálová was a composer of great promise who died of TB in 1940, aged just twenty-five. She studied conducting with Václav Talich and composition with Vítězslav Novák before moving to Paris where she was taught by Bohuslav Martinů. Her song cycle Sparks from Ashes deals with themes of love – found, flourishing, and lost – as do the eighteen numbers of Dvořák’s song cycle Cypresses. Written by Kaprálová four years later, the haunting Waving Farwell was inspired by having to leave Prague for her new life in Paris.