Ruiz: Venus & Adonis Grace Davidson & George Herbert

• Rodrigo Ruiz (b. 1988): Venus & Adonis, R. 10:
• 1 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: I. A thousand honey secrets 02:45
• 2 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: II. Frosty in desire 03:38
• 3 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: III. This countless debt 01:00
• 4 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: IV. A spirit all of fire 05:35
• 5 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: V. No more of love 02:31
• 6 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: VI. The pleasant fountains 02:19
• 7 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: VII. Give me my hand 02:07
• 8 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: VIII. So he will kiss her still 01:39
• 9 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: IX. In earth or heaven? 05:47
• 10 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: X. Bestowed in vain 02:40
• 11 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: XI. A churlish swine 03:16
• 12 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: XII. Good night 01:25
• 13 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: XIII. Confounded in the dark 01:34
• 14 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: XIV. The gentle lark 02:14
• 15 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: XV. The foul boar’s conquest 03:39
• 16 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: XVI. Two lamps burnt out 03:29
• 17 Ruiz: Venus & Adonis, R. 10: XVII. My sweet love’s flower 03:23
• Total Runtime 49:01

Info for Ruiz: Venus & Adonis

Venus & Adonis is the premiere recording of the eponymous song cycle by Billboard-charting composer Rodrigo Ruiz. Released to celebrate William Shakespeare’s 460th anniversary, this album is a tribute to the poet’s unmatched inspiration. When the composition was finished in 2020, Venus & Adonis became the first song cycle known to be written by a Mexican composer, as well as the only known song cycle (in English or otherwise) set entirely to Shakespeare's texts. Despite the newness of the cycle, the music lacks no lyricism and will gladden singers, pianists, artistic directors and all those longing to perform and programme such lyrical and well-crafted music. These seventeen songs, performed by British duo Grace Davidson (soprano) and George Herbert (piano), exemplify the enormous variety of expression that Ruiz is able to conjure in his writing, making of Venus & Adonis a truly exciting and refreshing addition to the art song tradition —one that will touch audiences and musicians alike.

Grace Davidson, soprano
George Herbert, piano

Grace Davidson
grew up in a house whose hallway was entirely filled by a grand piano which was being stored for a friend of the family – music was physically unavoidable. She learned the piano and the violin but it was singing that she loved best. Taken to ‘Cats’ when she was three years old she sang along throughout or, rather, whenever her mother’s hand wasn’t clamped over her mouth. And it was her singing that won her a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music where she won the Early Music prize and gained her degree and postgraduate. In 2016 Grace was appointed an Associate of The Royal Academy Of Music.

Since then she has worked as a soloist with leading Baroque ensembles, under the batons of Sir John Eliot Gardner, Paul McCreesh, Philippe Herreweghe and Harry Christophers.

Her discography includes a decade of recordings with The Sixteen, many of which feature her as soloist – Handel’s Jeptha (as Angel), Dixit Dominus, Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Pianto della Madonna, Acis and Galatea (as Galatea) and the Lutheran Masses of Bach. On Radio Three’s ‘Building a Library’, her singing in Fauré’s Requiem (with the London Symphony Orchestra and Tenebrae, Nigel Short conducting) was reviewed by Richard Morrison quite simply: “Grace Davidson’s Pie Jesu is matchless”.

Grace’s purity of tone has attracted many of the leading contemporary composers to write for her, most notably Max Richter, who chose her as the solo singer for many of his works, such as Sleep. This piece – lasting all night – has now been performed all over the world, including a performance in 2019 on the Great Wall of China.

Recent solo recordings for Signum Records are Vivaldi & Handel, a disc of sacred solo cantatas with the Academy of Ancient Music and John Dowland: First Booke of Songes Or Ayres with lutenist David Miller.

“Grace Davidson sings with gorgeous purity and warmth and hits some extraordinarily ethereal high notes”

Rodrigo Ruiz
Hailed as ‘an astonishing composing talent’ (Apple Music), Rodrigo Ruiz’s music, streamed in 150 countries in the five inhabited continents of the globe, fills a void left by most new music. This ‘unabashedly tonal’ (BBC Music Magazine) and ‘impeccably crafted [music]’ (Apple Music), instantly appeals to musicians and audiences alike, but doesn’t wear after repeated listening. Perhaps this explains why it is in high demand amongst top artists and ensembles around the world.

Rodrigo’s award-winning compositions are published by Universal Edition, with recent commissions coming from soprano Grace Davidson, violinist Kerenza Peacock, violist Ismel Campos, and Mexico’s National System of Musical Endowment (SNFM). His works have been performed in three continents by world-class musicians and ensembles the likes of Huw Watkins MBE, Laura van der Heijden (BBC Young Musician Award 2012), Christopher Glynn (GRAMMY® Award Winner), Francesca Chiejina, Jocelyn Freeman, Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, Alison Farr, Massimo Spada, José Miguel Rodilla, Iván del Prado and Rodrigo Sierra Moncayo, to name a few.

As part of Signum Classics star-studded artist roster he made his debut in 2021 on the Billboard Classical Charts with his album Behold the Stars, which quickly positioned itself as iTunes UK № 2 Bestseller, and iTunes US № 3 Bestseller; it was included in Apple Music’s Top 10 Albums of the Month, and given a stellar review (★★★★) from BBC Music Magazine.

In 2002, just shy of 14 at the time, the Mexican composer won the State of Baja California’s Outstanding Composition Award at the Second Piano Biennal Competition. In 2008, still in his teens, he became the first generation of Young Artist Fellows at Talentos Artísticos: Valores de Baja California, a programme of Mexico’s Cultural Institute of Baja California (ICBC).

Rodrigo holds a Bachelor of Music cum laude in Piano Performance from Lawrence University and a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan where he was the recipient of the merit-based scholarship of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, studying under Kenneth Kiesler. He then spent five years specialising in composition under the eminent Francesco Telli of the Conservatorio Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy. Later, through the generous help of the prestigious Joseph Campbell Scholarship, he attended the intensive Mythological Studies programme at Pacifica Graduate Institute during 2020/21.

Besides composing, Rodrigo conducts —he was assistant conductor in Naxos Records’ recording of Milhaud: L’Orestie d’Eschyle, nominated for the 2015 GRAMMY® Awards for Best Opera Recording— and writes about music and mythology. He is fascinated by literature and languages; he speaks fluent Spanish, English, French and Italian, as well as some German.

Booklet for Ruiz: Venus & Adonis