Steven Blier at the piano with Joseph Parrish, Shelén. Hughes Camacho, and Amir Farid
We are willing to place money on this: Steven Blier is as much in love with love as we are. We could not have chosen a better title for last night's New York Festival of Song recital. We just had to correct our typing since our subconscious mind typed "New York Festival of Love"! Indeed the entire program felt like a love fest. Not that all of the songs were love songs but the love between the two singers was manifested by adoring glances and worshipful attention toward the one singing from the other, who sat onstage in a chair stage left. And there was also a great deal of affection back and forth with Steven Blier, pianist/arranger/host/ raconteur. Audience members could just bask in the love glow.
We have seen many artistic/love partnerships, mostly comprising a pianist and a singer. Partnerships between two singers is more difficult to pull off due to a disparity in fame or talent. Soprano Shelén Hughes Camacho and baritone Joseph Parrish do not suffer from such disparity. They complement each other and share the stage generously. Both have won countless competitions--often the same competition on the same date. Spending an all too brief evening with the two of them could melt the hardest of hearts.
Sometime we attend a concert because of the program. Indeed, we jump at the chance to hear any of Schubert's song cycles (which we will do next month). At other times we attend a concert because we love the artists. This couple could sing the proverbial phone book (do phone books even exist anymore?) and we would be there. That is not to say that the material we heard last night was deficient or disappointing in any way; in fact we were introduced, as is usual at a NYFOS concert, to a number of songs we never heard by composers of whom we were ignorant. They were all of the 20th century but in no way suffering from a lack of melody.
The respective performances were marked by vocal perfection and dramatic artistry; we have not a single quibble. Ms. Camacho focused predominantly on songs from Latin America, most of which were folk song set to music by composers from all over Latin America. There was only one that we had heard before and that was probably at a prior NYFOS concert--a setting by Leonard Bernstein of an autobiographical verse by Julia de Burgos, given full dramatic treatment by Ms. Camacho-- all the way to a dramatic ending.
From her home country of Bolivia, we heard "Cantarina" by Willy Claure and Milton Contez. The flirtatious lyrics were set to a charming melody and led to a folk dance with Ms. Camacho and Mr. Parrish making use of matching white handkerchiefs. An equally excellent Bolivian song was her solo "Flor de bronce", Eduardo Caba's setting of Pablo Iturri Jurado's text, which showed off her expansive upper register and delicate pianissimo.
Mr. Parrish's Afro-American background was honored by a selection of spirituals that were arranged in the 20th century by Hall Johnson (the exuberant and jazzy "Honor Honor" and the haunting meditative "Dusty Road" from the film Bagdad Cafe). For the latter selection, Mr. Parrish accompanied himself on the piano, an amazing feat which we have witnessed on a number of prior occasions. You see, Dear Reader that we are an ardent fan of both artists whom we wrote about individually several years ago, way before they became a couple.
It is this "bearing witness" that gives our writing and our life meaning. We love recalling the very first time we heard and reviewed a particular artist, often when they were students, and secretly congratulating ourself for recognizing someone marked for future success.
Let us mention just a few delightful dishes from last night's banquet. There was a lovely duet with exquisite harmonies by Heitor Villa-Lobos called "Viola quebrada". We liked the operatic "Caminito" by Julián Aguirre in which Ms. Camacho savored each word, and Ginastera's "Canción del beso robado". Our beautiful couple did a cute little dance together in Celius Dougherty's arrangement of "Uncle Joe's Reel", a North American folk song.
Let us not neglect to praise the superb pianism of Amir Farid who joined Mr. Blier for some duo piano arrangements--Moisés Molero's "Joropo" marked by rhythmic syncopation and George Gerhwin's "Promenade" from the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film Shall We Dance. The accompanying skills were equally impressive.
It was a very special evening. You who may be wondering about this darling couple's next move; they will appear together in Puccini's La Bohême, unfortunately not in New York City. How many operatic couples get to be cast in the same opera??? What a fine future they have to look forward to! Although this has nothing to do with singing, we feel compelled to mention that they work together on a Bolivian non-profit started by Ms. Camacho. Voices for Bolivia brings classical music to Bolivians who would not usually have access to the arts. You may have seen that on Facebook. Doing good added on to doing well!
© meche kroop
No comments:
Post a Comment