Whither Must I Wander Will Liverman & Jonathan King

• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958): Songs of Travel, IRV 77:
• 1 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: I. The Vagabond 03:08
• 2 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: II. Let Beauty Awake 01:52
• 3 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: III. Roadside Fire 02:13
• 4 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: IV. Youth and Love 03:44
• 5 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: V. In Dreams 02:37
• 6 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: VI. The Infinite Shining Heavens 02:32
• 7 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: VII. Whither Must I Wander 03:56
• 8 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: VIII. Bright is the Ring of Words 01:53
• 9 Songs of Travel, IRV 77: IX. I Have Trod the Upward and the Downward Slope 02:21
• James Frederick Keel (1871 - 1954): Three Salt-Water Ballads:
• 10 Three Salt-Water Ballads : I. Port of Many Ships 02:09
• 11 Three Salt-Water Ballads : II. Trade Winds 02:17
• 12 Three Salt-Water Ballads : III. Mother Carey 01:43
• Herbert Howells (1892 - 1983):
• 13 King David 04:55
• Aaron Copland (1900 - 1990):
• 14 At the River 04:03
• Traditional:
• 15 Ten Thousand Miles Away (Arr. Steven Mark Kohn) 04:18
• Nikolai Medtner (1880 - 1951):
• 16 Wanderer's Night Song 02:41
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Liederkreis, Op. 39, No. 5:
• 17 Liederkreis, Op. 39, No. 5: Mondnacht 03:50
• Total Runtime 50:12

Info for Whither Must I Wander

An exquisite recital of songs on the theme of travel, given insightful, powerful interpretations by the American baritone Will Liverman and pianist Jon King.

'Whither Must I Wander' takes its name from one of the 'Songs of Travel' by Ralph Vaughan Williams, a song cycle that is at the heart of this release. From the trudging 'Vagabond' to the more playful 'Roadside Fire' and the radiance of 'Youth and Love', Vaughan Williams explores every bittersweet nuance of journeying.

The album also features the exhilarating vigour of Frederick Keel's 'Three Salt-Water Ballads', and the magnificent 'King David' by Herbert Howells. We then travel from England across the Atlantic to hear American songs by Aaron Copland, with one of his 'Old American Songs', the serene 'At the River', and by contemporary composer Steve Mark Kohn, whose 'Ten Thousand Miles Away' uses traditional folk song to navigate the emotional strains of missing a loved-one far away.

Liverman and King end their recital with the Goethe-inspired 'Wanderer's Night Song' by Russian composer Nikolai Medtner, and with the beautiful 'Mondnacht' by Robert Schumann.

Will Liverman, an ambassador for diversity in the arts, grew up surrounded by gospel music in the Pentecostal Churches of Norfolk, Virginia. His musical education in piano and vocal studies enabled him to visit the Metropolitan Opera aged 15, a transformative moment that inspired Liverman to pursue singing as a career, with such success that he made his own Metropolitan Opera debut in recent years. Jon King is an American pianist and choral conductor, disciplines which he has studied to Doctorate level at the Universities of Michigan and Maryland. King has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor in an array of venues, including London's Wigmore Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Will Liverman, baritone
Jonathan King, piano

Will Liverman
Called “one of the most versatile singing artists performing today” (Bachtrack), baritone Will Liverman is quickly gaining a reputation for his compelling performances, while making significant debuts at opera houses across the world. Liverman is a recipient of a 2019 Richard Tucker Career Grant and Sphinx Medal of Excellence.

In the 2019-20 season, Liverman returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Papageno in its holiday production of The Magic Flute, in addition to singing the role of Horemhab in the Met’s premiere of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten. He also appears as Pantalone in The Love of Three Oranges at Opera Philadelphia, as Marcello in La bohème at Seattle Opera, and as Silvio in Pagliacci at Opera Colorado and Portland Opera, in addition to performing Schubert’s Die Winterreise at The Barns at Wolf Trap Opera.

Recent engagements include Liverman’s Metropolitan Opera debut as Malcolm Fleet in Nico Muhly’s Marnie and appearances with Tulsa Opera as The Pilot in The Little Prince; with Opera Philadelphia, Santa Fe Opera, and Dallas Opera as Schaunard in La bohème; and with Santa Fe Opera as the Foreman at the Mill in Jenůfa.

Liverman has performed the leading role of Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia with Seattle Opera, Virginia Opera, Kentucky Opera, Madison Opera and Utah Opera. He originated the role of Dizzy Gillespie in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with Opera Philadelphia, in addition to performing the role with English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Madison Opera, and at the Apollo Theater. Other recent highlights include the role of Tommy McIntyre in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Fellow Travelers for its Lyric Unlimited initiative; Papageno in The Magic Flute with Florentine Opera and Central City Opera; his role debut as Marcello in La bohème with Portland Opera; his debut with Seattle Opera as Raimbaud in Le Comte Ory; Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia and Beaumarchais in The Ghosts of Versailles with Wolf Trap Opera; Andrew Hanley in the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ The Manchurian Candidate with Minnesota Opera; Sam in The Pirates of Penzance with Atlanta Opera; the Husband in Les mamelles de Tirésias with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; the Protestant Minister in Menotti’s The Last Savage with Santa Fe Opera; and Mr. Noye in Noye’s Fludde as a guest artist at Wheaton College.

Expanding into the concert repertoire, Liverman performed the title role in a concert version of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and was a featured soloist in Brahms’ Requiem with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, in Handel’s Messiah with the Seattle Symphony, in Carmina Burana with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, in Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, in Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the South Dakota Symphony, and at the New York Festival of Song, in addition to returning to his alma mater Wheaton College as part of the Artist Concert Series together with tenor Lawrence Brownlee.

Liverman previously received a 2017 3Arts Award, a George London Award, and was recognized as a classical division Luminarts Fellow by the Luminarts Cultural Foundation. In 2015, he won the Stella Maris International Vocal Competition, received the Gerda Lissner Charitable Fund Award, and received a top prize from Opera Index. He was a grand finalist in the 2012 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, and additionally was a three-time first prize winner of the Chicago National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, first prize winner in the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, a grand prize winner of the Bel Canto Foundation Competition, a recipient of a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, and a top award winner from the William Matheus Sullivan Musical Foundation.

Liverman concluded his tenure at the prestigious Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2015. He previously was a Young Artist at the Glimmerglass Festival. He holds his Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Wheaton College in Illinois.

This album contains no booklet.