Helen Charlston has recorded her first entirely solo album for Delphian, for which she was joined by the theorbo player Toby Carr. 'Battle Cry: She Speaks' combines music of the 17th century with a new work written for her by Owain Park, 'Battle Cry', which gives the album its title. James Jolly caught up with her to talk about the album and find out about what's coming up from this much sought-after young singer.

You can listen to the Podcast above. To hear other Gramophone podcasts, or to subscribe for free to new editions, search for 'Gramophone' in your Podcast App of choice, or visit Gramophone's page on Apple Music podcasts.

We also have a beautiful film taken from the album to mark its release day: Purcell's 'Lead me to some peaceful gloom' from Bonduca, which you can watch below:

A BBC New Generation artist, Helen Charlston won First Prize in the 2018 Handel Singing Competition and was a Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for 2017-19. Her first album for Delphian, mainly of duets with her soon-to-be-husband Michael Craddock, was 'The Isolation Songbook', warmly welcomed by Gramophone's Alexandra Coghlan who wrote that 'the results are varied, from comic miniatures to distilled dramas and contemplative outpourings, but together add up to a recital that’s hard to resist, at once fresh and profoundly familiar'.

You can listen to 'Battle Cry: She Speaks', in lossless sound on Apple Music below.