In Search of Youkali is a sort of journey through the theatre music of Kurt Weill performed by soprano Mary Bray supported by Murray Grainger (accordion), Marianne Schofield (double-bass) and William Vann (piano).  For me, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.  The German songs; “Barbarasong” and “Berlin im Licht” are quite nicely done but with (mainly) a bright, operatic kind of sound where I would prefer something more cabaret style.  The accompaniments work well though.

“Surabaya Johnny” is a bit of an oddity.  It’s well sung but with a rather dated RP accent.  If the idea is posh girl roughing it then it’s an interesting and unusual one but I’m not entirely sure it works.  She’s good and idiomatic in the French songs; “Complainte de la Seine” plus “J’attends un navire” and “Je ne t’aime pas” from Marie Galante.

Then it’s across the Atlantic to Weill’s Broadway phase.  For the most part I’m no fan of this material though Bray sings it well.  I could have used less of it and more of the German rep but if it’s your thing you may like it.  Certainly she’s more idiomatic when she loosens up for a jazzy number like “Buddy on the Nightshift”.

The songs are interspersed with short improvisations on themes from “Youkali” by each performer and there’s an improvised “Premonition of Youkali” where Bray is multi-tracking with herself.  “Youkali” itself, which closes out the disk is pretty good.

The recording is excellent.  It was made in high definition at St George’s, Headstone, Harrow in February 2025   It’s due for release in physical and digital formats up to 96kHz/24 bit lossless (my review copy) on January 9th 2026.  There’s a booklet with full texts and translations and lots of background information.

It’s an interesting record and if one wants a journey through the way Weill’s style shifts over time and circumstances it’s of value.  Since I’m no great fan of the later material I’ll be sticking with my many recordings of Weill’s predominantly German songs.

Catalogue information: Chandos CHAN20359