Walking in the Dark

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Classical singer Julia Bullock makes her solo recording debut with Walking in the Dark. On the album, Bullock and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Christian Reif, perform Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and a song from John Adams’s El Niño. She is joined by Reif, on piano, for a traditional spiritual and songs by Oscar Brown, Jr., Billy Taylor, Sandy Denny, and Connie Converse. Bullock is “one of the singular artists of her generation,” says the New York Times, “a singer of enveloping tone, startlingly mature presence and unusually sophisticated insight into culture, society and history.” Grammy Winner for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

Description

Grammy Winner for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

You can read Julia Bullock's album liner note HERE.

Classical singer Julia Bullock makes her solo recording debut with Walking in the Dark, released December 9, 2022, on Nonesuch Records. Bullock is joined on the album, which NPR Music names one of The 10 Best Classical Albums of 2022, by London’s Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Christian Reif for Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and an aria from John Adams’s El Niño. With Reif on piano, she also performs a traditional spiritual and songs by Connie Converse, Oscar Brown Jr., Billy Taylor, and Sandy Denny. You can watch a short video about the making of the album here:

Of the album’s varied repertoire, Bullock says, “This music and poetry have contributed to my development as a classical singer. Over the years, I’ve returned to this material with reconsideration, revision, and review, and that makes me undoubtedly call these songs ‘classics’—classics, which are inclusive of traditions across cultures, and celebrate a diversity of thought, expression, and experience.”

“It is rare to find a classical singer who can truly project an aura onstage,” says the New Yorker. Julia Bullock “is a musician who delights in making her own rules.”

“Bullock’s voice is deeply rich and richly deep, with both the qualities of Anderson’s expressive contralto and Price’s electrifying climaxes,” says the Los Angeles Times. “Meaning was, word for word, expressed through not only her exacting vocal inflection and her precise facial expression, but even the slightest movement of her hands. Her eyes made contact. Communication was on every level direct.”

“The soprano Julia Bullock is on the verge of an unconventional career,” says the New York Times, “one of the singular artists of her generation—a singer of enveloping tone, startlingly mature presence and unusually sophisticated insight into culture, society and history.”

Julia Bullock is an American classical singer who “communicates intense, authentic feeling, as if she were singing right from her soul,” says Opera News. Combining versatile artistry with a probing intellect and commanding stage presence, she has headlined productions and concerts at preeminent arts institutions around the world. An innovative curator in high demand from a diverse group of arts presenters, museums and schools, her notable positions have included collaborative partner of Esa-Pekka Salonen at the San Francisco Symphony, 2020–22 artist-in-residence of London’s Guildhall School, 2019–20 artist-in-residence of the San Francisco Symphony, and 2018–19 artist-in-residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

She is also a prominent voice of social consciousness and activism. As Vanity Fair notes, Bullock is “young, highly successful, [and] politically engaged,” with the “ability to inject each note she sings with a sense of grace and urgency, lending her performances the feel of being both of the moment and incredibly timeless.” Honored as a 2021 Artist of the Year and “agent of change” by Musical America, Bullock gave a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert as part of NPR Music’s special quarantine edition of the series in December 2020; NPR’s Tom Huizenga characterized it as “among the most transcendent musical moments I’ve experienced.”

Bullock was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where she joined the artist-in-training program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis while in high school. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree at the Eastman School of Music, her master’s degree in Bard College’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program, and her artist diploma at New York’s Juilliard School. It was there that she first met her husband, conductor Christian Reif, with whom she now lives in Munich.

JULIA BULLOCK
WALKING IN THE DARK

BROWN BABY
(first released 1960, rearranged 2013)
Poetry and Music by Oscar Brown Jr. (1926–2005)
Arr. by Jeremy Siskind & Julia Bullock; inspired by Nina Simone

ONE BY ONE (first recorded 1954, rearranged 2017)
Poetry and Music by Connie Converse (b. 1924, disappeared 1974)
Arr. by Jeremy Siskind

MEMORIAL DE TLATELOLCO
From El Niño (composed 2000)
Poetry by Rosario Castellanos (1925–1974)
Music by John Adams (b. 1947)

CITY CALLED HEAVEN
(arranged c. 1930)
Poetry and Music developed by enslaved person/s in the United States
Traditional Black Spiritual
Arr. by Hall Johnson (1888–1970)

I WISH I KNEW HOW IT WOULD FEEL TO BE FREE
(first released 1963, rearranged 2013)
Poetry and Music by Dick Dallas (1937–2004) and Billy Taylor (1921–2010)
Arr. by Jeremy Siskind

KNOXVILLE: SUMMER OF 1915, OP. 24
(composed 1947)
Text by James Agee (1909–1955) (published 1938)
Music by Samuel Barber (1910–1981)

WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES
(first recorded 1967, released 1973, rearranged 2021)
Poetry and Music by Sandy Denny (1947–1978)
Arr. by Jeremy Siskind, Christian Reif, Julia Bullock

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Vocal/piano pieces (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 & 7) recorded May 18-19, 2021 at Britten Studio (Snape Maltings, UK)
Vocal/orchestra pieces (tracks 3 & 6) recorded May 13-14, 2021 at Henry Wood Hall (London, UK)
Chorus overdub on John Adams’s Memorial de Tlatelolco, from El Niño (track 3) recorded Nov. 30, 2021 at All Saints Church (East Finchley, UK). Conducted by Will Dawes.
Edited & produced by Matthew Bennett and Dave Rowell
Engineered & mixed by Dave Rowell
Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME)

Photography by Grant Legan
Design by Jeri Heiden / SMOG Design, Inc.

Executive producer: Robert Hurwitz

Album Status
Artist Name
Julia Bullock
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Julia Bullock, vocals (1-7)
Christian Rief, piano (1, 2, 4, 5, 7), conductor (3, 6)
Philharmonia Orchestra (3, 6):
Christian Reif, conductor
Chorus overdub conducted by Will Dawes
Soprano: Ana Beard Fernandez, Rachel Chapman, Cheryl Enever, Elinor Rolfe Johnson, Elizabeth Weisberg
Alto: Heather Cairncross, Amanda Dean, Ruth Kiang, Amy Lyddon
Tenor: Peter Davoren, Andrew Friedhoff, Jonathan Hanley, Tom Kelly
Bass: Malachy Frame, Tom Herring, Jon Stainsby, Daniel Tate

reissues?
new-release
Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
LP+MP3
Price
21.00
UPC
075597908152
Label
CD+MP3
Price
13.00
UPC
075597908176
Label
192/24 HD FLAC
Price
9.00
UPC
075597908190
Label
MP3
Price
8.00
UPC
075597908169

News & Reviews

  • "I love this idea of 'intersection' for inspiration when it comes to describing American music or its characteristics," classical singer Julia Bullock says in a new video from Boosey & Hawkes for its America at 250 series. "There's no apology for where those inspirations are coming from, so whether it's directly quoting or imitating the sort of collage and then the depth of expression that can come out of the layering effect, I put all these things together because it brings me great pleasure and joy and often surprises me tremendously." You can watch it here.

  • The 92nd Street Y in New York City (92NY) has announced its 2024–25 Tisch Music Season, including performances by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion, Jeremy Denk, Julia Bullock, Richard Goode, Brad Mehldau, Gabriel Kahane, and Days of Wine and Roses star Kelli O'Hara.

  • About This Album

    Grammy Winner for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

    You can read Julia Bullock's album liner note HERE.

    Classical singer Julia Bullock makes her solo recording debut with Walking in the Dark, released December 9, 2022, on Nonesuch Records. Bullock is joined on the album, which NPR Music names one of The 10 Best Classical Albums of 2022, by London’s Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Christian Reif for Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and an aria from John Adams’s El Niño. With Reif on piano, she also performs a traditional spiritual and songs by Connie Converse, Oscar Brown Jr., Billy Taylor, and Sandy Denny. You can watch a short video about the making of the album here:

    Of the album’s varied repertoire, Bullock says, “This music and poetry have contributed to my development as a classical singer. Over the years, I’ve returned to this material with reconsideration, revision, and review, and that makes me undoubtedly call these songs ‘classics’—classics, which are inclusive of traditions across cultures, and celebrate a diversity of thought, expression, and experience.”

    “It is rare to find a classical singer who can truly project an aura onstage,” says the New Yorker. Julia Bullock “is a musician who delights in making her own rules.”

    “Bullock’s voice is deeply rich and richly deep, with both the qualities of Anderson’s expressive contralto and Price’s electrifying climaxes,” says the Los Angeles Times. “Meaning was, word for word, expressed through not only her exacting vocal inflection and her precise facial expression, but even the slightest movement of her hands. Her eyes made contact. Communication was on every level direct.”

    “The soprano Julia Bullock is on the verge of an unconventional career,” says the New York Times, “one of the singular artists of her generation—a singer of enveloping tone, startlingly mature presence and unusually sophisticated insight into culture, society and history.”

    Julia Bullock is an American classical singer who “communicates intense, authentic feeling, as if she were singing right from her soul,” says Opera News. Combining versatile artistry with a probing intellect and commanding stage presence, she has headlined productions and concerts at preeminent arts institutions around the world. An innovative curator in high demand from a diverse group of arts presenters, museums and schools, her notable positions have included collaborative partner of Esa-Pekka Salonen at the San Francisco Symphony, 2020–22 artist-in-residence of London’s Guildhall School, 2019–20 artist-in-residence of the San Francisco Symphony, and 2018–19 artist-in-residence at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    She is also a prominent voice of social consciousness and activism. As Vanity Fair notes, Bullock is “young, highly successful, [and] politically engaged,” with the “ability to inject each note she sings with a sense of grace and urgency, lending her performances the feel of being both of the moment and incredibly timeless.” Honored as a 2021 Artist of the Year and “agent of change” by Musical America, Bullock gave a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert as part of NPR Music’s special quarantine edition of the series in December 2020; NPR’s Tom Huizenga characterized it as “among the most transcendent musical moments I’ve experienced.”

    Bullock was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where she joined the artist-in-training program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis while in high school. She went on to earn her bachelor’s degree at the Eastman School of Music, her master’s degree in Bard College’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program, and her artist diploma at New York’s Juilliard School. It was there that she first met her husband, conductor Christian Reif, with whom she now lives in Munich.

    JULIA BULLOCK
    WALKING IN THE DARK

    BROWN BABY
    (first released 1960, rearranged 2013)
    Poetry and Music by Oscar Brown Jr. (1926–2005)
    Arr. by Jeremy Siskind & Julia Bullock; inspired by Nina Simone

    ONE BY ONE (first recorded 1954, rearranged 2017)
    Poetry and Music by Connie Converse (b. 1924, disappeared 1974)
    Arr. by Jeremy Siskind

    MEMORIAL DE TLATELOLCO
    From El Niño (composed 2000)
    Poetry by Rosario Castellanos (1925–1974)
    Music by John Adams (b. 1947)

    CITY CALLED HEAVEN
    (arranged c. 1930)
    Poetry and Music developed by enslaved person/s in the United States
    Traditional Black Spiritual
    Arr. by Hall Johnson (1888–1970)

    I WISH I KNEW HOW IT WOULD FEEL TO BE FREE
    (first released 1963, rearranged 2013)
    Poetry and Music by Dick Dallas (1937–2004) and Billy Taylor (1921–2010)
    Arr. by Jeremy Siskind

    KNOXVILLE: SUMMER OF 1915, OP. 24
    (composed 1947)
    Text by James Agee (1909–1955) (published 1938)
    Music by Samuel Barber (1910–1981)

    WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES
    (first recorded 1967, released 1973, rearranged 2021)
    Poetry and Music by Sandy Denny (1947–1978)
    Arr. by Jeremy Siskind, Christian Reif, Julia Bullock

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Julia Bullock, vocals (1-7)
    Christian Rief, piano (1, 2, 4, 5, 7), conductor (3, 6)
    Philharmonia Orchestra (3, 6):
    Christian Reif, conductor
    Chorus overdub conducted by Will Dawes
    Soprano: Ana Beard Fernandez, Rachel Chapman, Cheryl Enever, Elinor Rolfe Johnson, Elizabeth Weisberg
    Alto: Heather Cairncross, Amanda Dean, Ruth Kiang, Amy Lyddon
    Tenor: Peter Davoren, Andrew Friedhoff, Jonathan Hanley, Tom Kelly
    Bass: Malachy Frame, Tom Herring, Jon Stainsby, Daniel Tate

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Vocal/piano pieces (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 & 7) recorded May 18-19, 2021 at Britten Studio (Snape Maltings, UK)
    Vocal/orchestra pieces (tracks 3 & 6) recorded May 13-14, 2021 at Henry Wood Hall (London, UK)
    Chorus overdub on John Adams’s Memorial de Tlatelolco, from El Niño (track 3) recorded Nov. 30, 2021 at All Saints Church (East Finchley, UK). Conducted by Will Dawes.
    Edited & produced by Matthew Bennett and Dave Rowell
    Engineered & mixed by Dave Rowell
    Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering (Portland, ME)

    Photography by Grant Legan
    Design by Jeri Heiden / SMOG Design, Inc.

    Executive producer: Robert Hurwitz