To The Distant Beloved

When a young singer makes the finals of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, the musical world takes notice. But as a member of The Sixteen and the BBC Singers, the young British-Chinese tenor Philippe Durrant was forging a very distinctive career even before his Ferrier success in 2025, and his song repertoire ranges from Schubert to Poulenc. With Oxford Song founder-director Sholto Kynoch at the piano, Durrant’s “shining tenor and interpretative depth” (Seen and Heard International) is the focus of this Wolfson College recital. Their programme includes Britten’s Purcell realisations, as well as Beethoven’s solitary, heartfelt song-cycle An die ferne Geliebte – just days before the 200th anniversary of the composer’s death.