Florence Price - Songs (Ted Black; Sascha El Mouissi)

Information

Composer: Florence Price

1. The Island of my Dreams
2. Hold Fast to Dreams
3. They Lie, they Lie
4. Songs to the Dark Virgin
5. Night
6. Bright be the Place
7. Lethe
8. There be None
9. Love-in-a-mist
10. The Superstitious Ghost
11. Ham & Eggs
12. The Moon Bridge
13. Dawn's Awakening
14. Three Short Songs: No. 1, Day Dawns
15. Three Short Songs: No. 2, The Crescent Moon
16. Three Short Songs: No. 3, The Broken Bowl
17. Because
18. Interim
19. My Little Dreams
20. We Have Tomorrow
21. An April Day
22. Beside the Sea
23. God Gives Me You
24. The Glory of the Day Was in Her Face
25. A White Rose
26. I Grew a Rose
27. Sunset
28. Song is so Old
29. Travel's End
30. 4 Encore Songs: No. 1, Tobacco
31. 4 Encore Songs: No. 2, A Flea and a Fly
32. 4 Encore Songs: No. 3, "Come, come", said Tom's Father
33. 4 Encore Songs: No. 4, Song of the Open Road
34. Little Things

Ted Black, tenor

Sascha El Mouissi, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Cavi-Music

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On Hold Fast to Dreams, tenor Ted Black and pianist Sascha El Mouissi present a selection of songs by composer and pianist Florence B. Price, highlighting the expressive breadth and refined craft of her vocal writing. The album reflects Price’s distinctive musical language, characterized by a balance of emotional intensity, lyrical charm, and inventive melodic detail. Pianist Sascha El Mouissi emphasizes the immediacy and lasting impact of her works, noting their sensitivity, expressive depth, and structural sophistication. Together, the performers offer interpretations that underscore both the poetic richness and the nuanced complexity of Price’s songs, bringing renewed attention to her contribution to the vocal repertoire.

British tenor Ted Black is widely recognized for his “full bodied lyric tenor,” “valiant high notes,” and seamlessly integrated lower register, and is emerging as one of the most distinctive vocal artists of his generation. A laureate of the Wiener Staatsoper Young Artist Programme, he performed extensively there in more than a hundred appearances, taking on roles such as Rodrigo in Otello, Tebaldo in I Vespri Siciliani, the Young Lover in Il Tabarro, and Ulrich Eißlinger in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. His recent operatic work includes roles in Così fan tutte, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Tannhäuser. Alongside his operatic career, he is an acclaimed recitalist who has appeared at leading venues such as Wigmore Hall and the Musée d’Orsay, noted for performances of refinement, clarity, and expressive depth.

Sascha El Mouissi is widely regarded as one of the most distinguished and imaginative song pianists of his generation, with a vibrant international career that spans leading festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, Schubertiade, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Wiener Festwochen, and the Istanbul Music Festival, among others. He is especially known for his close artistic collaborations with many acclaimed singers, including a longstanding partnership with baritone Rafael Fingerlos, as well as performances with artists such as Vera-Lotte Boecker, Wolfgang Holzmair, Ted Black, and Thomas Quasthoff. An accomplished chamber musician, he also collaborates with leading instrumentalists including cellists Julia Hagen and Harriet Krijgh. His work has been documented in numerous recordings, some of which have received awards such as the Ö1 Pasticcio Prize, and includes his curated Florence B. Price song project with WDR and CAvi-music. In addition to his performance career, El Mouissi is an active pedagogue, festival director, and professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, contributing significantly to the interpretation and dissemination of art song.