Joseph Parrish, Alexander Fortes, and Margaret Kampmeier
Sponsored by Five Boroughs Music Festival, The Orchestra of St. Luke's has presented a program, as enlightening as it was entertaining, across all five boroughs of New York City, culminating in Monday's performance at the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library which, fortunately has a beautiful and comfortable theater. The theme of the recital was "Finding an American Voice" and featured New York City's preeminent young baritones, a gifted violinist, and a worthy pianist, all of whom conspired to entertain and educate.
Baritone Joseph Parrish has been dazzling us for the past few years, not only by means of a highly burnished baritone but also by his engaging stage presence. Through his performances we have become interested in African American music, about which we had known almost nothing. That this music inspired one of our favorite European composers came as a surprise and has led to some self-education. Music tends to do that, especially for us.
Anonín Dvořak, he of the melodic symphonies and the composer of the much loved opera Rusalka, was lured to New York at the end of the 19th century to helm the National Conservatory of Music. Not only do we adore Dvořák's music but we feel a special attachment to his legacy, having lived for three years in an apartment next door to the brownstone he occupied with his family whilst he was in NYC. (We were fortunate to have been given a tour by one of the residents who showed us a bronze plaque. Tragically, Beth Israel Hospital's expansion led to the demolition of this house and we shed a few tears over it.)
What was new to us was his artistic partnership with one Harry T. Burleigh who was a student at the conservatory and assistant to the great European master. Having heard baritone Burleigh singing spirituals, Dvořák became entranced and incorporated the melodies in his works. We are a bit embarrassed to admit that we always assumed that these wonderful melodies were Czechoslovakian folk tunes. Well, Dear Reader, now we know better and so do you!
Mr. Parrish comes from an ecclesiastical family so his ease with spirituals comes naturally. In addition to his musical gifts, one cannot help but be impressed with his ability to communicate the emotions of the music by means of vocal color and not by excessive showmanship. Every time he performs he introduces us to songs we had never heard, along with some with which we had only a vague familiarity.
In addition to a set of spirituals we heard a set of art songs composed by Burleigh that stand alongside those of Stephen Foster as emblematic of the American experience of the 18th century. We would like to list the spirituals for you so that you can find them online and enjoy the depth of feeling as much as we did. "Little David Play on Your Harp", "I Got a Home in-A Dat Rock", "Dry Bones" and the somber "My Lord, What a Morning". We particularly enjoyed Mr. Parrish's use of falsetto for the ending of the first selection, and his use of dynamics in the second.
In another set, he introduced us to several of Burleigh's art songs. We enjoyed the blatant romanticism of the melody in "The Glory of the Day Was in Her Face", and the vocal swells of "Tide". "And As the Gulls Soar" was brief and impressionistic. A gentle prelude by pianist Margaret Kampmeier introduced the pensive "The Dove and the Lily".
Not only was Ms. Kampmeier a fine piano partner for Mr. Parrish, but also served violinist Alex Fortes very well. The Allegro movement from Dvořák's Four Romantic Pieces, Op. 75 was tuneful and switched readily from major mode to minor. The Sonatina in G major for Violin and Piano, Op. 100 comprised four movements, beginning with a dance-like Allegro in which the melody was tossed back and forth between piano and violin, highlighting Mr. Fortes' impeccable artistry. A plaintive Larghetto led to a spirited Scherzo and a Finale Allegro featuring rhythmic syncopation and some well executed trills on the violin.
No less wonderful was Southland Sketches for Violin and Piano with it's folksy Andante, lyrical Adagio, an Allegretto that featured variations on Stephen Foster's "Suwanee River" ("The Old Folks at Home"), and ended with a propulsive and lighthearted Allegro that reminded us of a Rossini opera.
Both instrumentalists succeeded at conveying the many colors and moods that characterize Dvořák's instrumental work and also allowed us to hear how the master's sojourn in New York and his collaboration with Harry T. Burleigh added so much dimension to his output. We listened. WE. enjoyed. We learned. What more could one ask for?
© meche kroop
No comments:
Post a Comment