‘I never imagined, when I learnt my very first Japanese song Karatachi no hana – Quince Flower – by Yamada Kohsaku in 1991, that thirty years later I would be bringing out my fourth CD of these beautiful songs. This is the third CD with piano accompaniment and like the other two, is a mixture of “kakyoku”, the Japanese equivalent of Lieder or Chanson, and of “douyou”, popular songs that are sung in schools and then throughout life. It has truly been a wonderful journey of discovery and the songs on this CD show that the art of composition of these western-style songs continues on into the present day.’ – Charlotte de Rothschild

Charlotte de Rothschild’s career has taken her all over the world. In 1999, after performing in Japan for 10 years, Charlotte recorded a CD of classical Japanese songs “A Japanese Journey”. She was the first foreigner to have recorded this music in the native tongue and she has promoted the beauty of these songs all over the world, accompanied by the harp, piano or orchestra. Charlotte is a specialist in the songs of 20th-century Japanese composers and has toured in Japan over many years. Together she and Adrian have now made two albums of these beautiful songs, and continue to enjoy presenting them in recital throughout Japan.

Adrian Farmer trained as an accompanist at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester from 1977, following a music degree at Birmingham University. He first encountered Nimbus Records in 1979, when he was invited to record for them, but quickly made the decision to join the founders, taking up the role of record producer. Adrian has enjoyed his work as a record producer, on the control-room side of the microphone: at the time of writing this biography 43 years spent working intimately with the finest artists, and reflects that it has brought many rewards, the opportunity for continuous learning and constant musical refreshment.