Lucy Shelton/Soprano

Legend has it that some could see Lucifer himself guiding Niccolo Paganini's fingers over the neck of his violin when he performed. Judging by the evidence offered on this second of three discs from the Consort's Smithsonian season, Lucy Shelton might very well be receiving similar assistance from any number of less rebellious angels. Shelton has honed her supple, pellucid soprano to the point where it glides through even the most demanding passages with preternatural ease, making the two-time Walter W. Naumburg Award winner the perfect partner in the sublime for Washington D.C.'s storied 20th Century Consort. These recordings of far-too-rarely heard works by Joseph Schwantner, Gerald Chenoweth, Richard Wernick, and William Doppman mark the culmination of an ongoing 26-year collaboration between Shelton and the Consort, proving that practice does, in fact, make perfect. Still, a little angelic assistance never hurts.