At last night’s 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony, it was announced that American classical singer Julia Bullock had received her first Grammy Award, winning in the Best Classical Solo Vocal category for Walking in the Dark. Marking Bullock’s solo album debut, the recording has already been recognized with both Opus Klassik and Edison Klassiek awards, as well as being featured in the New York Times’s “Best Classical Music Tracks of 2022.” Alongside offerings from Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, it was named among the “20 Best Albums of 2022” by NPR, which called it “an album that shines, introducing us to an artist curating a career on her own distinctive terms.”
Released in December 2022 by Nonesuch Records, Walking in the Dark was recorded with the singer’s husband, conductor and pianist Christian Reif, and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, of which she is now the 2023-24 Featured Artist. The album combines orchestral works by American composers John Adams and Samuel Barber with a traditional spiritual and songs by jazz legend Billy Taylor and singer-songwriters Oscar Brown, Jr., Connie Converse and Sandy Denny (see full track listing below). Of this wide-ranging and eclectic program, Bullock explains:
“This music and poetry have contributed to my development as a classical singer. Over the years, I’ve returned to this material with reconsideration, revision and review, and that makes me undoubtedly call these songs ‘classics’ – classics, which are inclusive of traditions across cultures, and celebrate a diversity of thought, expression and experience.”
Hailed as a “stirring and lyrical debut” by The Guardian, the recording proved a resounding critical success. ABC News declared: “Bullock is one of the most talented singers of her generation and her first solo album offers a mix of unconventional and deeply personal choices.” Naming the recording its “Record of the Week,” BBC Radio 3 concluded: “Bullock is equal to everything here, the expressive power and range and truth of her singing leaving an indelible impression.”
Gramophone agreed: “The soprano’s musical prowess, interpretative skills and creative vision shine as bright and clear as daylight on her illuminating debut release.” Dubbing Bullock “an essential soprano for our times,” the Los Angeles Times marveled:
“Bullock brings the quality of oration to all she sings. Words are always in the spotlight. By the end of the recording, you just may feel the world ever so slightly differently, with your perception a little changed, your receptivity a little enhanced, your sense of wonder a little improved. … The fullest revelation of who Bullock is, right now, a fully formed artist in her mid 30s at her vocal prime, is Walking in the Dark. It is likely to be the first of many such solo recordings for Nonesuch.”