PARRISH'S PARISH

 Joseph Parrish and Friends

Rising star bass-baritone Joseph Parrish has been on our radar for some time now. We believe the first time we reviewed his performance was about 4 years ago when he appeared as a most believable Baron Pictordu in Pauline Viardot's Cendrillon. There are many reviews right here on this website that one can access by entering his name in the search bar. One might read about the countless competitions he has won with arias in many languages and many styles. 

Although we have never made use of Artificial Intelligence in writing our reviews, we are not above quoting our own writing, since his performance at Merkin Hall, under the auspices of Young Concert Artists, so perfectly reflects our prior observations of a performance at The Crypt presented by Death of Classical. We will highlight what we felt to be essential at that time and what continues to be a hallmark of his artistic mission.

"The program began and ended with Mr. Parrish accompanying himself on the piano, evidence that this is an artist who will do things his own way to achieve his own goals, a quality we admire and prize. Apparently, the theme for this recital was a demonstration of the similarity between German lieder and American spirituals, inasmuch as both deal with love, loss, pain, elation,and spirituality. There was a seamlessness to the recital which interspersed works by Liszt, Brahms, and Mahler (our favorite being "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen") with works by Burleigh, Hogan, and Johnson and spirituals that we have heard before but which, in this context, felt entirely new. "Deep River" was sung with art but no artifice.

Except for the opening and the enthusiastically "demanded" encores, piano accompaniment was finely rendered by Francesco Barfoed whose sensitive playing served to underscore the idea that there should be no artificial categories like "art song", "popular song", or "folk song". We first became aware of this concept at Steven Blier's New York Festival of Song; Mr. Blier also mixes things up, so to speak, finding similarities more important than differences."

It would seem that Young Concert Artists gave Mr. Parrish free rein to design his own recital and to prove the above mentioned intent, Afro-American art songs and Spirituals were programmed alongside German lieder, allowing the audience to perceive and appreciate the resonance.

To hear Harry Burleigh's "You ask me if I love you?" next to Gustav Mahler's "Liebst du um Schönheit", written approximately a century earlier to text by Rückert, was a revelation.  Similarly, performing Burleigh's "Her Eyes Twin Pools" next to Schubert's "Ständchen", from about two centuries earlier, reinforced our awareness that love strikes us all, no matter our race, nationality, or generation. 

Having written numerous encomia in prior reviews about Mr. Parrish's magnificent instrument and engaging stage presence, we will only point out one feature that took our breath away; that was the delicate pianissimo at the end of the Burleigh song, at which point the poet James Weldon Johnson speaks of losing his soul in the depths of his lover's eyes. What a magical moment, with impeccable vocal technique used in the service of emotion--probably carefully devised but seemingly spontaneous.

Excellent accompaniment was provided by the superb pianist Francesco Barfoed who has accompanied Mr. Parrish on prior occasions, most memorably at a concert in The Crypt which we quoted above.

This half of the program was well known territory for us whilst the second half of the program brought new delights. We re-entered the theater after intermission to find onstage risers and watched as a large group of enthusiastic bright-faced youngsters filed onstage and arranged themselves on the risers. This was the renowned Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir led by Artistic Director Michele Fowlin. Accompanied by Anthony "Tony" Walker, Music Director of the choir, these youngster delighted the highly responsive audience with a program of Spirituals, mostly unknown to us.

The first piece on the program was the New York premiere of a piece by Alistair Coleman, a Young Concert Artists composer, entitled "Psalm" with text by Paul Celan, translated by Pierre Joris. It was commissioned specifically for Mr. Parrish and seemed to us to be quite accomplished for a young composer. It began sparely and rose in complexity.

Various composers have arranged Spirituals, among them Margaret Bond, Moses Hogan, and Hall Johnson. Among the selections, we most enjoyed "Deep River" and "Ride on King Jesus", likely because they had the ring of familiarity. The young choristers seemed to be having a great time with the program, as did the audience, judging by the standing ovation and thunderous applause.

We thought a great deal of the generosity of spirit Mr. Parrish demonstrated by sharing the stage with these youngsters and what a thrill it must have been for them. The excitement was exhilarating for all. 

Let us not fail to mention the stirring encore "Great is Thy Faithfulness" which was popularized by the Billy Graham Crusade, by crossover artist Steve Green, and by Carrie Underwood. One could not have hoped for a better ending.

© meche kroop

Joseph Parrish and Friends