William Parker - An Old Song Resung (1995)

“Mr. Parker filled his recitals with songs woven around particularly poetic or descriptive texts, and illuminated those works with a warm, flexible timbre and a thoughtful approach to phrasing. In the English, German and French songs with which he was most closely associated, his diction was remarkably clear. And his personality consistently created the illusion that he was sharing a confidence with his listeners. Although he had been making his way in the music world steadily since the early 1970's, Mr. Parker seemed to burst onto the music scene in 1979, when he won first prize at the Kennedy Center-Rockefeller Foundation International Competition for Excellence in the Performance of American Music. That competition established him as a singer who was not only willing to sing American music, but was enthusiastic about it."