Katie Bray (mezzo), William Vann (piano), Murray Grainger (accordion), Marianne Schofield (double bass)
Weill, K: A Glimpse of Youkali
Weill, K: Die Dreigroschenoper: Barbarasong
Weill, K: Berlin im Licht
Weill, K: Die Dreigroschenoper: Overture
Weill, K: Happy End: Surabaya Johnny
Weill, K: A Vision of Youkali
Weill, K: Complainte de la Seine
Weill, K: Je ne t'aime pas
Weill, K: Marie Galante: J'attends un navire
Weill, K: A Dream of Youkali
Weill, K: Lunchtime Follies: Buddy on the Nightshift
Weill, K: Nanna's Lied
Weill, K: Knickerbocker Holiday: September Song
Weill, K: Huckleberry Finn: Apple Jack
Weill, K: A Premonition of Youkali
Weill, K: One Touch of Venus: Speak Low
Weill, K: Lady in the Dark: My Ship
Weill, K: Huckleberry Finn: This Time Next Year
Weill, K: Youkali "Tango-habanera"
Winner of the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, the British mezzo-soprano Katie Bray has become known for her magnetic stage presence and gleaming, expressive tone.
Katie writes: ‘Youkali, It is the land of our desires, It is happiness, it is pleasure... But it is a dream, a folly, There is no Youkali!’. This song was my first encounter with Kurt Weill, more than twenty years ago, and that yearning, mesmerising tango has been a constant companion ever since.
The sentiment behind ‘Youkali’ touched me deeply, and seemed to echo Weill’s own search for a place of personal and artistic freedom, a German Jew forced into exile in 1933 owing to the rise of the Nazi regime. He moved around the world, and with each new country came a reinvention of himself and some more miraculous musical shape-shifting. ‘Youkali’ is Weill’s ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’, an idea that resonates strongly with me, and seems painfully relevant to us all as I write this, in 2025, yet again living in a world at war. My performances of Weill’s songs have always centred around ‘Youkali’ and Weill’s search for a place to belong and to be free. I have wanted to make this album for many years, and am thrilled finally to have had the chance to do so with such a special team of collaborators and friends. It is my tribute to Kurt Weill, the chameleon, in all his glory, and a tribute to us all in our search for kindness, love, and peace’.
"Bray and Vann have been developing this programme together for years, and it shows in their easy fluency; the other two instruments are used tellingly, painting in subtle rather than primary colours. As for Bray, she is outstanding...her singing is a demonstration of how an elevated, “trained” voice can sound wonderfully communicative and natural in this music." - The Guardian, 9th January 2026
