THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL PASSION

Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble at The Crypt

We give Andrew Ousley a great deal of credit for creating unusual and compelling evenings in his series Death of Classical. We cannot, however, give him credit for the boiler breakdown at The Church of the Intercession as we sat shivering in The Crypt. We will say this. The atmosphere added to our sympathy for "The Little Match Girl", who freezes to death on the street on the last night of the year whilst having visions of warmth and food.  According to the fairy tale recorded by the 19th c. Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, after envisioning her dear departed grandmother, she joins her in heaven.

Composer David Lang was given the commission for this piece by the National Chamber Choir of Ireland and the work premiered in 2008. It was written for four voices, percussion, and chamber choir. The version we saw last night omitted the choir; the four voices we heard brought the text to vivid life and the accompanying percussion went a long way toward amplifying the mood.

Mr. Lang followed the model of Bach's St. Matthew's Passion with the Andersen text interrupted by outpourings of grief, guilt, remorse, repentance, and cries for mercy. Most of these interpolations seemed to be  the voice of a mother who has wronged her daughter. We fantasized that perhaps it was the mother of the little girl sent out to sell matches on a cold wintry night. Personally, we would have been just as moved if the composer had simply  set the fairy tale. But Mr. Lang had something more spiritual in mind and evidently wanted to draw a connection with the Bach piece.

The story is heartbreaking and reminded us to not take our warm home and nourishing food for granted when refugees and hostages alike are suffering in the Middle East. We think of the approaching cold weather and the poor soldiers in Ukraine fighting for their freedom, as well as the Russian soldiers conscripted unwillingly. Yes, we do feel sorrow for them also and we feel sorrow for their wives, mothers, and children. The world is a cruel place for many but Andersen seems to imply that one can be hopeful nonetheless, as the little girl did when she hallucinated warmth and food and love by the light of her matches.

Now, what about the music?  Regular readers recall our distaste for contemporary music but let us mark this as an exception. This was our first time hearing the Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble and we found them to be artistic and effective.The music is tied together by a recurring motif comprising an interval of a fourth followed by just a note or two or three of an ascending scale passage. This motif not only ties the work together but amplifies the chill of the score. Rarely do we hear a work in which the vocal line so well matches the text. No, it isn't at all lyrical but it serves the work well.

This motif is established and repeated by the alto part, strongly sung by Amber Evans who also made good use of the glockenspiel. The soprano part was sung by Charlotte Mundy, who also played the sleigh bells and scraped lightly on a disc called a break drum, which was new to us.  Also new to us were the crotales, small tuned cymbals. Tenor Tomás Cruz  took the tenor part and also played the glockenspiel and tubular bells. Bass Steve Hrycelak also played the bass drum. Each percussion instrument contributed a unique sound. The harmonies were interesting and appropriately chilling in effect, with great use of the dissonant second interval.  Maestro Jeffrey Gavett succeeded in keeping everything balanced and The Crypt was filled with pungent overtones. The overall effect was hypnotic.

We have never heard anything boring or commonplace at Death of Classical  and always eagerly await the announcement of the next adventure. Now we understand that these adventures will be expanding to other cities. We hope they find an audience as appreciative as the New York audience.

© meche kroop 

 

SPANNING SIX CENTURIES

Neil Beckmann, Amber Evans, and Francesca Ferrara

Most vocal recitals we've reviewed include works of the 19th c.--our favorite. Last night we attended a very special recital that jumped from the Baroque period to what we would call Post-Modern, skipping over the 19th c. What made the recital special was not only the unique aspect of the choices but the excellence and commitment of the performers. These were works that the artists enjoyed performing; one could tell by their enthusiasm.

Soprano Amber Evans has an engaging stage presence and an impressive instrument, the texture of which worked extremely well with the acoustics of the beautiful sanctuary of St. John's in the Village, the Rector of which, Graeme Napier, is a real music lover. One would be hard-pressed to find a night there without a recital!

Ms. Evans' musical partner was Neil Beckmann who seemed as comfortable with the exotic theorbo as he was with guitars (both acoustic and electric), and the lute. The pair was joined by flutist Francesca Ferrara for the final selection on the program which we will get to later.

Of the Baroque portion of the program, we were captivated by Barbara Strozzi's "L'Eraclito Amorosa", a rather typical lament of someone with an unfaithful lover. It was expressed in Strozzi's unique and heart-rending style which was well matched by Ms. Evans' passionate delivery in the manner favored by singer/scholar Jessica Gould of Salon/Sanctuary Concerts. The Italian was perfumed with garlic, as it should be. We loved the melodic line which was enhanced by dynamic variety. The extended melismatic passages served as a vocalise, showcasing Ms. Evans' gifts. Mr. Beckmann's theorbo provided worthy accompaniment.

Also from the 17th c. was Michel Lambert's "Vos Méspris" which delighted our ears. The text is another cri de coeur from a scorned lover. Apparently that was a favorite topic in that epoch, one which inspired so much gorgeous music. Again we loved the way the theorbo sounded with the voice.

From the 16th c. we heard several songs by John Dowland, our favorite of which was "In Darkness Let Me Dwell" because of the way Dowland married music to the text. The texture of Ms. Evans' voice and Mr. Beckmann's lute produced overtones which bounced around the room, creating an arresting effect.

From an even earlier period (15th c.) was Guillaume Dufay's "Mon chier amy". On the page, the consoling words are spelled differently from the more familiar spelling of the 17th c. French but we had no trouble understanding Ms. Evans' excellent diction, which impressed our native born Francophone friend.

We confess we have struggled with words to describe the Post-Modern works on the program. We always feel a bit lost when there is no melody but we can't say we were bored or alienated. Let's just say we found them curious and interesting. There was a haunting flavor to Marcos Balter's "Pos que nada que dure ou que durando". The Portuguese offered no challenge to our linguistically gifted soprano, nor did the scoring for cowbells and triangle. There were keening sounds and a very delicate decrescendo at the end. Mr. Beckmann accompanied with acoustic guitar and whistles (!). Yes, whistles.

Madeleine Isaksson's "Därimellian" requires the singer to make up syllables. The two artists created some unique overtones as Mr. Beckmann did some strange moves on an electric guitar--portamenti and vibrato (to use vocal terms with which we are familiar). There was nothing to hold onto except for a 3-note motif.

Anna Korsun's "Tollers Zelle" showed off Ms. Evans' facility with some strange bird cries and with the spoken German text at the end of the piece. Mr. Beckmann played electric guitar with more strange techniques and both took turns with what appeared to be a child's toy, a kind of music box played with a rotating handle. We certainly didn't know what to make of it or how it related to the text.

Kaija Saariaho's "Adjö" was visually interesting with some vigorous beating of chimes and tambourine. Flutist Francesca Ferrara produced some strange overtones juxtaposed with acoustic guitar. The vocal line was nothing if not spiky. The text was Swedish.

On more familiar territory we heard Benjamin Britten's Six Folk Songs for Soprano and Guitar. We particularly enjoyed "I Will Give My Love an Apple" and "Sailor Boy". Folk songs endure because they have melody!

As encore we heard an old German Christmas carol "Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" which dates arguably from the 16th c. and is undeniably lovely even in the modern arrangement we heard on the theorbo.

We thought long and hard about the music we heard last night. The oldest endured for six centuries.  How long will the music composed in the 21st c. endure?  Just sayin'!

(c) meche kroop

WOMEN ON THE VERGE

Rachel Stewart

Years ago there was a saying about double features--"one piperoo, one stinkeroo". Let no one say that about the operatic double feature we enjoyed last night performed by the Opera Repertoire Ensemble of Manhattan School of Music.  Actually, there was plenty of resonance between the two tales of female suicide.

The heroine of Francis Poulenc's 1959 monodrama La Voix Humaine (adapted from a play by Jean Cocteau) suffers from romantic illusions whilst the heroine of Puccini's 1918 Suor Angelica suffers from religious illusions (or delusions, as the case may be).

   

Monica Talavera and Amber Evans

In both cases, the women have put their centers of gravity outside themselves, one willingly and the other as a victim of cultural and familial forces. The pairing, taking Suor Angelica out of it's place in Puccini's oft-produced trilogy, leads us to see the work in a new light. The only downside is leaving the theater feeling the full force of the tragedy without the relief of Puccini's light-hearted comedy Gianni Schicchi.

In the Poulenc, a woman with no name is having a much interrupted conversation with a lover who has ended the relationship. Clearly she is not ready to let him go and is still using terms of endearment. The role calls upon the soprano to sing a minimalistic vocal line based upon French speech patterns, and to inject her
lines with a full spectrum of emotions.

The listener hears only her half of the conversation.  The words of the man are left to the imagination of the listener to fill in from his/her own experience. He must obviously care for the woman to some extent to stay on the phone and listen to her protestations of love and her made-up stories which she later recants.

Continual interruptions and disconnections add to the fragmentary nature of the monologue, and are symbolic of the emotional disconnection. As "Elle", soprano Rachel Stewart rose to the vocal challenges and gave a shattering performance, involving the audience by means of her own involvement with the role. We wonder about a character who would give up her life for five years and center it around a man--but this was over a half century ago.  Autre temps, autre moeurs. 

Even further back in history, a century ago, getting pregnant out of wedlock was enough to cause a family to reject the unfortunate mother-to-be and to hustle her off to a convent to do penance for her "sin". Nowadays women who prefer to be unwed can deliberately create a child and raise it alone or en famille.

Suor Angelica's aristocratic family has immured her in a convent and deprived her of any contact. She suffers mightily from neglect and wants nothing more than to embrace her son. When she finally gets the longed-for visit from her aunt, La Principessa, there is no forgiveness or acceptance. The purpose of the visit is to get her to sign over her inheritance. Even worse, she learns that her child died several years earlier.

She poisons herself with an herbal concoction, becomes terrified about being damned, prays, and believe herself forgiven. She hallucinates her child welcoming her to heaven.

With meager resources at hand, the Opera Repertoire Ensemble gave the piece an excellent production, thanks to the breadth of vocal talent available.  The piece opens with the superb chorus singing an Ave Maria. The eponymous Suor Angelica was sung by the excellent soprano Amber Evans who was moving in her portrayal and sang with a light clear tone regardless of whether she was in ecstasy or despair.

The other superb performance was that of contralto Monica Talavera who created a character who was as cold as she was arrogant; her rich instrument stood in lovely contrast with Ms. Evans' soprano.

The entire cast of nuns sounded wonderful with voices raised in gorgeous harmonies and the brief solo lines were well handled by each and every nun.

Although we missed Puccini's lush orchestrations, a great job was done by pianists Jiwon Byung and Yi Xin Tan together with Jia Jun Hong filling in with special effects on the synthesizer.

As usual, Maestro Thomas Muraco's sensitive conducting pulled everything together to create a most worthwhile evening. Watching his hands is a treat in and of itself.

There will be a second performance tonight with some cast changes and we recommend it highly if you can snag a ticket. Last night had a waiting line to deal with so go early.

(c) meche kroop