GENRE; Classical
RELEASE DATE; 25 July , 2025
RATING; 4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Samuel Mariño’s Lumina arrives as a quietly daring second statement: less bravura display, more luminous intimacy. The Decca release (25 July 2025) frames Mariño not as a novelty but as an artist deliberately reshaping repertoire for his rare male-soprano instrument.
From the opening Lascia ch’io pianga (Handel) Mariño trades fireworks for line and warmth; his top register is astonishingly free and focused, but here it’s used to create a steady emotional arc rather than acrobatic dazzle. Accompanied by Ben Palmer and the Covent Garden Sinfonia on orchestral episodes and Jonathan Ware in piano-led tracks, the album balances broad orchestral color with intimate salon moments — an effective dramaturgy that keeps the 52-minute program varied and approachable.
Standouts include a vulnerably hushed Ave Maria (Schubert, Hazell arr.) and a gorgeously reimagined Song to the Moon (Dvořák) that lets Mariño’s sustained pianissimi bloom without strain. His own arrangements — notably his take on “The Last Rose of Summer” and Canteloube’s Baïlèro — feel personal rather than gimmicky, reframing folk and art-song material through a sopranist’s sensibility.
If there’s a small reservation, it’s that the album’s mood rarely surprises: once the lyrical path is set, Lumina rarely seeks dramatic contrast. But that restraint is also its strength — a coherent artistic choice that reveals maturity: Mariño at 31 preferring lyricism and tonal warmth over youthful virtuosity.
