Featured Album March 2026: Ruby Hughes with Jonas Nordberg & Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann "Amidst The Shades"

Last month we celebrated the 400th anniversary the death of John Dowland, and continuing that theme, this month's Featured Album contains some of the composer's best-loved works in a varied programme which also features works by Holborne, Danyel, Purcell, Britten, Wallen and many more. Soprano Ruby Hughes fronts this impressive collection with lute from Jonas Nordberg and viola da gamba from Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann, released last month on BIS Records. Read on to find out more about the music in this thoughtful and inspired programme...

Amidst The Shades
Ruby Hughes, with Jonas Nordberg & Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann

OUR FEATURED ALBUM FOR MARCH 2026

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From the artists' press release:

Soprano Ruby Hughes, celebrated for the profound "understanding and stylishness" (Gramophone) she brings to her artistry, has a distinguished discography of recitals showcasing the exquisite beauty of her voice. She is particularly known for her carefully curated programs that weave together works from diverse eras. In Amidst the Shades, Hughes reunites with gambist Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann and lutenist Jonas Nordberg - the same inspiring sonic constellation that contributed to the success of Heroines of Love and Loss (2017). This new recital explores their shared passion for Elizabethan music, which served as the catalyst for the program's creation. The contemplative and melancholic songs of John Dowland form the foundation, leading to works by Robert Johnson and John Danyel, interwoven with Purcell's intimate vocal pieces. Seeking to further enrich the repertoire for lute and voice, Hughes commissioned new works from Errollyn Wallen and Deborah Pritchard, setting texts by William Shakespeare. She also obtained permission from Cheryl Frances-Hoad to arrange one of her existing compositions for this unique ensemble. Amidst the Shades promises a recital brimming with nuanced expression and delicate sonic colours.

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Why The Early Music Shop loves "Amidst The Shades":

Already the recipient of much critical acclaim, Ruby Hughes once again teams up with lutenist Jonas Nordberg and gambist Mime Yamahiro Brinkmann for a heartfelt programme of music spanning over 400 years of musical history. 

In his anniversary year, it’s the Dowland works which will draw headlines, and indeed the album is front-loaded with a delightful sextet of works by the composer. Hughes sings some of Dowland’s best-known works with charm and sympathy, reflecting the characteristic anguish and emotion of the texts of songs such as Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite, Flow My Tears and Time Stands Still. Every word is cherished and considered: a sign of a singer with real understanding of her repertoire. 

Moving through time sequentially, the trio cycle through a number of composers whose lives, much like Dowland’s, spanned the turn of the 17^th century. Within this segment of the programme we hear the virtuosity of Hughes’ accompanists in solo works for lute and viola da gamba by Anthony Holborne and Tobias Hume respectively. We also experience one of the stand-out vocal performances of the collection in John Danyel’s Grief, Keep Within (from Mrs. M E Her Funeral Tears for the Death of her Husband), where the thematic ties to the Dowland works are evident, and Hughes conveys the text with a delicate conviction.

Next, we arrive at Henry Purcell, from whose repertoire some arguably lesser-known works are selected. These include the title track Amidst The Shades (Z.355), which is another highlight for its vocal word-painting. Purcell’s unmatched skill and adventure as a melody writer comes across in works such as O Solitude (Z.406) and Here The Deities Approve (from Welcome to All The Pleasures, Z.339, composed for St Cecilia’s Day 1683).

Born on St Cecilia’s Day, albeit 230 years later, Benjamin Britten features next, with one short work (Corpus Christi Carol, from A Boy Was Born, Op.3) bridging the gap between the old and new. Much like Dowland, Britten is also in an anniversary year, with this November marking 50 years since his death; there is a pleasing sense of continuity between this and the Purcell, and it’s no surprise Britten was a fan of Purcell’s writing. 

A selection of short newly-composed and/or newly-arranged works follow, with high-calibre composers Errollyn Wallen, Deborah Pritchard and Cheryl Frances-Hoad featured. While there is undeniably a shift in melodic and harmonic focus, particularly from the Renaissance section of the programme, the consistency in timbre and use of texts from Shakespeare’s sonnets ensure the shift does not jar. Nordberg’s thoughtful arrangements of the Britten and Frances-Hoad works are successful reductions where his dexterity as a lutenist shines.

Hughes’ ultra-controlled, unaffected voice pairs beautifully with Nordberg's lute throughout, while the sparse use of Brinkmann’s emotive gamba adds just the right amount of colour to the programme. Captured with a close, intimate sound, the recording is inviting and captivating.

For its vocal performances alone, Amidst The Shades may turn out to be one of the essential discs of 2026; when combined with Nordberg and Brinkmann’s sensitive and inspired backing, this creates a truly special recording with emotion, variety and passion at its heart.

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Amidst The Shades is available from The Early Music Shop online or in-store at our Snape Maltings showroom!

Click here to order now!

Click below to watch the official video for Ruby Hughes and Jonas Nordberg's interpretation of Britten's Corpus Christi Carol, as featured on the new album Amidst The Shades: