ABOUT
"The premiere of my ‘Sappho Fragments’, given by Kayleen and Paul Sánchez, was one of the best first performances I’ve ever been fortunate enough to have. Not only was there a complete technical command of the music and fabulous attention to detail, but there was also a deep understanding of what I’d written. The result was that the music came alive in exactly the way I intended, and was full of colour, tonal shading, and vitality. A beautiful performance."
- Graham Lynch, composer
“Kayleen Sánchez' wonderfully sensitive interpretations evoke the full sway of Sappho’s fervent, impassioned imagination. Indeed, Sánchez' keen technical virtuosity manages to capture the finely shaded gradations of emotion that all three song cycles draw up from the well of human experience. Listen closely and you’ll discover that, long after the final syllable is sung, her voice still thrills along the spine.”
- Sherod Santos, poet
"This is one of the most beautiful discs in my collection.... Soprano Kayleen Sánchez has the perfect voice, pure and unshakably direct in delivery.... The gradual journey from resignation and regret to hope [in Paul Sánchez' "Magus"] is experienced as an opening out of the human spirit; Kayleen Sánchez’s purity of voice and total control of her instrument is utterly remarkable. Haunting in the extreme, the 23-minute song cycle Magus will be with you for a long time afterwards....
- Colin Clarke, Fanfare Magazine
Acclaimed soloists Kayleen Sánchez, soprano, and Paul Sánchez, piano joined forces in 2009, and have since captivated audiences with electrifying performances of new works as the duo Far Song. The husband-and-wife art song duo specializes in new music, and has performed world premieres of works by composers including Graham Lynch, David M. Gordon, Shawn Okpebholo, and Paul Sánchez. They have been featured together on CD releases on the Albany and Soundset labels, and most recently completed a new album featuring music of David M. Gordon. Performance highlights in 2018–2019 include the San Francisco International Piano Festival; Autunno Musicale in Caserta, Italy; "Sappho: Then and Now" in Charleston, South Carolina; the 2018 Michigan State University Song Cycles Conference; and Living Music Resource at the University of Mississippi.
"Sanchez has a pure, lyric voice which she uses with imagination."
- Henry Fogel, Fanfare Magazine
"This is hauntingly beautiful music... generously filled with melodic inspiration and evocative atmosphere.... [These songs by Paul Sánchez] are works of originality and a distinctive musical personality."
- Henry Fogel, Fanfare Magazine
"Soprano Kayleen Sánchez uses a pure tone... that evokes the text perfectly."
- Ford Fourqurean, The Clarinet Journal