Presented by: Magpie Artsong
Reviewed: 23 August 2026
Sometimes the stars align and you are presented with something that leaves you in a different place. A combination of time, place and people allowed us to share in the myriad of talents shared by Kyle Stegall and Penelope Cashman. They aren’t of this world, they are a rare breed of creative energy that have skills that are almost other worldly.
The time: Sunday afternoon August 23rd, 2026.
The place: Coriole Winery Top House, sparkling and alive with light and air.
The people: An eclectic audience mix of Magpie Artsong lovers and Kyle Stegall and Penelope Cashman. As we were reminded by Cashman and Stegall at the beginning of the programme a recital is a special sharing of unique items with people who have never met before, but who will take away the shared experience of something that is unique and intensely personal that cannot be repeated. The programme did not disappoint.
It started with Combat del somni (A Battle of Dreams), a group of songs by Frederic Mompou (1893–1987), with text by Josep Janés (1913-1959).
The songs, all in Catalan, seemed to still the air and dissolve the room into the heat and passion of the Catalan landscape. Angular, austere, passionate. Stegall’s stellar voice and Cashman’s sensitive and collaborative accompaniment made the world stand still and take a breath. Stegall has the voice of an angel and devil combined. His top range soars extending the story and emotion to new heights and his rich lower tones stir something in the listener that melts every thought away as you stop listening and experience the music. The air crackles with energy and every note from both these magicians combine to tell a story.
Damunt de tu només les flors (Above you only flowers)
Immediate, connected vital voice. Stegall inhabited the song and the connection between the voice the accompaniment and poetry. Stegall and Cashman started as they meant to carry on drawing pictures with voice, sound and poetry.
Aquesta nit un mateix vent (Tonight the same wind)
The song is like a kiss. Stegall’s flexible vocal ability allowing even the stillness to vibrate. Stegall allows the top of his range to manifest beautifully judged tone and connect seamlessly with Cashman’s perfectly judged piano.
Jo et pressentia com la mar (I sensed you were like the sea)
The music has the tempo of each emotional state and moves like water with such ease and flexibility. It was like floating in the sea in all its avatars from stormy to calm.
Fes-me la vida transparent (Make my life transparent)
A compassionate blending of voice and piano from these two gifted protagonists. Stegall’s freedom in his upper register is sublime and Cashman’s foundation impeccable.
Ara no sé si et veig, encar (I know not now whether I can still see you)
This was like living through the experience of love with all its states and challenges. The recurring theme of water added another fluid dimension to piece.
These introductory songs were followed by Penelope Cashman playing two Charmes by Mompou. Two exquisite jewels of music I had never heard before. Firstpourendormir la souffrance (…to alleviate suffering). Cashman paints pictures with sound. The music is alive, vibrant, poignant. It hangs in the air like a fine mist on an Autumn morning.
She followed this with pour pénétrer les âmes (…to penetrate the soul) and the first perfectly placed note almost stopped my heart. The bright sunshine of a perfect spring day outside put this music into stark relief. It is angular, painful, playful, resonant. It had the energy of a small child discovering something for the first time.
For the final piece of the first half (yes there was more and more in this wonderful programme) Stegall returned to take the space with a song from Clairières dans le ciel (Clearings in the Sky) by Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), with a text by Francis Jammes (1860-1938) The choice – Demain fera un an (It will be a year tomorrow)
This haunting piece of beautiful song pierces the heart from its opening, then Stegall steadies you with truth and tone. He inhabits the song and draws you through the journey of beauty, regret and despair. He inhabits every note with truth and invites you into another dimension. He lives the music, it is a dark, stormy, vibrant, sublime movement through the voice. Extraordinary technical ability which never gets in the way of the beauty of the song.
Interval – We needed it to recover. Coriole providing the wine and the space to recharge for the second half.
So, Winter Words Op. 52 by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), texts by Thomas Hardy (1840-1928). I hadn’t heard them for a long time and they are a combination of two of my favourite British creative geniuses. No pressure.
I was not disappointed.
At Day-Close in November:
Immediate connection with the spirit and energy of Britten and Pears. Britten composed Winter Words for Pears to sing. It was as if they were both in the room.
Midnight on the Great Western – ‘The journeying boy’:
The piano blaring like a train whistle, the rhythms of the piece challenging and dynamic, the characters breathing into life with the seamless articulation of piano and voice. The blackbird outside adding a different musical note which enhanced the piece injecting a moment of humour Britten would have probably added.
Wagtail and Baby – ‘A satire’:
The musical flair of the piece, the energy of a challenged wagtail. Such great attachment to the subject matter and oh, that voice. A great, and fun journey through the song.
The Little Old Table:
The humour of both voices, the piano and the human brought this table to life in my imagination. I was allowed to inhabit the song with ease. I could feel the creak.
The Choirmaster’s Burial – ‘The tenor man’s story’:
This broke my heart with the first phrase then continued to haunt the room with its understanding of the emotional and musical need. The honesty of the music becoming almost indiscreet as we were submerged in grief.
Proud Songsters – ‘Thrushes, finches and nightingales’:
A song about birds or is it. Each bird a new character, each character a new tone, each tone a new feeling. I missed the blackbird though.
At the Railway Station, Upway – ‘The convict and the boy with the violin’
The characters were at the station before the words started. Stegall proving he has the perfect voice for Britten imbuing the piece with all the variety and complexity of the characters and leaving us hanging in suspense at the end. Pictures filled with sound.
Before Life and After:
When feeling and sound collide through voice and piano it’s hard to be rational. This man’s voice is a work of art and Cashman has all the creativity of an old master; she fills the canvas with sound and Stegall drinks every moment of it to produce something very special.
Finally, an excerpt from Das heiße Herz (The burning heart) by Jörg Widmann (*1973), text by Clemens Brentano (1778-1842)
8. Einsam will ich untergehn : (Alone I will go under)
At the beginning of the afternoon Both Stegall and Cashman reinforced the quiet intimacy of the recital and how it is a personal and privileged meeting of audience and song. An experience which by its very nature means it is unique.
It was encompassed by the quite superlative rendition of the final art song; from the startling opening it continued to grab your heart as the sounds of the piano wind through the air under the voice that suspends your day-to-day life. Questioning, leading, doubting. The melancholy interrupted by another question that leads on from the previous. The piano angular, invasive, driven to ask questions. The singularity of the of vocal journey that took us out of the room and onto the pathway of the song at times sending us to yet another plane. The musical combination of these two artists painfully exquisite. Then the music becomes almost religious before it fractures into its conclusion.
Let’s just say the puppy had the last word. Fortunately, it didn’t detract from the journey of the piece, and it did belong to the man whose voice dominated the afternoon. You had to be there!
Reviewed by Adrian Barnes
Photo credit: supplied
Venue: Coriole Winery Top House, McLaren Vale
Season: ended
