Barbara - La solitude. The Songs of Barbara (Jessica Walker)

Information

Composer: Barbara (Monique Andrée Serf)

1. Ce matin là
2. Attendons que ma joie revienne
3. Une petite cantate
4. Göttingen
5. Nantes
6. La solitude
7. Mon enfance
8. Amours incestueuses
9. Sid’amour à mort
10. L’aigle noir
11. Plus rien

Jessica Walker, voice

Joseph Atkins, piano & accordion

Megan Glover, soprano saxophone

Solem Quartet

    William Newell, violin

    Amy Tress, violin

    Stephen Upshaw, viola

    Stephanie Tress, cello

Date: 2026

Label: Resonus Classics

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Renowned French singer-songwriter Barbara (Monique Andrée Serf, 1930–1997) achieved extraordinary fame in her home country, notably selling over a million copies of her iconic song L’Aigle Noir on its release day, yet she remains little known internationally. To introduce her evocative repertoire to English-speaking audiences, vocalist and translator Jessica Walker presents new English adaptations of Barbara's music. The album features a fusion of cabaret and art song, addressing dark, complex themes from the artist's life. Accompanied by pianist-arranger Joseph Atkins and the Solem Quartet, Walker vividly brings the raw emotional power and poetic depth of Barbara’s legacy to life.

British singer, writer, and educator Jessica Walker works across opera, theater, cabaret, and contemporary music. A Guildhall School of Music and Drama graduate, she earned a practice-led PhD from Leeds University in 2016, focusing on performer-created music theater. Walker creates and performs multidisciplinary works internationally, with recent credits ranging from the Adelaide Festival to commissions for Opera Leipzig and the Three Choirs Festival. An advocate for artist agency, she mentors widely, publishes academic research on collaborative theater and performance, and serves as external examiner for Guildhall while maintaining active performance engagements globally across concert, opera, and cabaret stages.

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