"Oh, the music in church is so dreary!" is the first line of Drummond's press release and something that immediately caught my eye as it is something that has regularly gone through my own mind. As someone that regularly sings in the church, it is something Drummond Walker has heard on a number of occasions and he has decided to record an album of traditional hymns with his own interpretations- something that is surprisingly very refreshing and appealing. He hasn't taken anything away from the beauty of the original tracks but instead added a more upbeat accompaniment and alternative melody arrangements.
'Divine Love' is a wonderful collection for someone who enjoys beautiful hymns but is looking for that something different that sets it aside from other classical albums. This may be Drummond's first release but he is no stranger to singing and since an early age has been working within the classical world.
He won the Beryl Searle Scholarship to Trinity College London, where he studied voice with John Wakefield and he amazed his teachers by his knowledge of and love for church music and by his total ignorance of opera. He had not even heard of Pavarotti. But soon he was to join The New Saddlers Wells Opera Company before moving in 1984 to Germany to pursue his career as a soloist.
His classic apprenticeship in which he sang both comic and lyric roles in musicals, operettas and operas began at the Landestheater Detmold. He went on to be the operetta tenor at Bielefeld and then the Heldentenor (German dramatic tenor) at Eisenach. He has sung major roles in a number of opera houses throughout Europe such as Tannhauser, Florestan (Fidelio), Hoffmann, Max (Der Freischatz), Pedro (Tiefland) and operetta roles such as Sou Chong (The Land of Smiles), Alfredo and Eisenstein (Fledermaus), Graf Zedlau (Wiener Blut), Barinkay (The Gypsy Baron), Edwin (The Gypsy Princess) and Camillo (Night in Venice).
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Drummond works regularly with Maestro Gustav Kuhn at the Tyrolean Opera Festival Erl in Austria. Nevertheless, he continued to pursue his love of choral music, even acting as choirmaster of the Bielefeld garrison church for many years. He is known for his ability to mould choirs and bring joy to amateur singers.
In April 2009 he toured Spain singing the role of Eisenstein in Fledermaus and then In June Drummond sung the role of Johannes in 'The Book of Seven Seals' at the Miskolc opera festival in Hungary.
Pick 'Divine Love' up on iTunes- a wonderful buy.
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