HEAVENLY SOUND

Avi Avital and Bridget Kibbey in The Crypt

We imagine that the Crypt of the Church of the Intercession is still resounding with the heavenly music provided last night by harpist Bridget Kibbey and mandolinist Avi Avital. We are always captivated by novelty and the combination of harp and mandolin opened aural doors for us. The stone arches and vaults of The Crypt amplified the overtones of the two stringed instruments in such a fashion that we were transported to new places.

Andrew Ousley's Death of Classical is famous for providing unique entertainments in unique venues and The Crypt is just such a venue. His presentations are of an exclusive nature with room for about sixty music lovers; we are always thrilled to be a part of this group, even when they applaud in the middle of a work. We wonder whether they are ignorant of the work itself or ignorant of concert etiquette but wish they could be instructed not to interrupt the flow.

The two main pieces on the program were song cycles by two 20th c. Spanish composers. Manuel de Falla composed Siete Canciones Populares Españolas for Soprano and Piano in 1914, settings of folk songs from different parts of Spain. We have lost track of the number of times we have heard it in recital. It has been transcribed for guitar but hearing it performed by this novel pairing of instruments was a completely new experience.

We cannot deny that we heard the words in our mind's ear, especially sung by Isabel Leonard, but the emotional connection was somewhat altered. Most remarkable for us was the devastation we felt during "Asturiana". An individual approaches a pine tree for consolation and the tree wept along with him. A simple idea but so heartbreaking!

Joaquin Rodrigo, another compositional titan from Spain, composed Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios in 1948. They cover a variety of amatory situations from the grief of an unmarried woman to the excitement of a young man infatuated with a woman with loose hair. Nor in this case were we able to ignore the words which we know so well from vocal recitals. Perhaps this even heightened our appreciation.

The program also included Marc Lavry's 1945 Three Jewish Dances which carried no vocal baggage. We simply enjoyed the three wedding dances, the first of Ashkenazic and klezmer derivation, the second of Yemenite origin, and the final Israeli entry of Hava Nagilah, the dance known as the Hora.

Mr. Lavry composed the dances for piano and there were originally more than three. Later he orchestrated them for violin and piano, and then for violin and orchestra. We listened to a few of these versions online and we must say that we preferred what we heard last night.

We have always loved the harp and have a memory of hearing legendary harpist Nicanor Zabaleta playing a solo recital at the 92nd St. Y, which convinced us to make our life in NYC! Since then, we have only heard the harp as part of the orchestra but always love the sound. What a treat to hear it once more up close and personal.

We know next to nothing about the mandolin but found it to be highly expressive and given over to interesting techniques like the tremolo. It isn't every day that we get to hear such unique textures as the two instruments created together.

An encore of Brazilian jazz had us suppressing a samba in our seat!

© meche kroop

NADINE SIERRA'S FULL PALETTE

Bryan Wagorn and Nadine Sierra

Soprano Nadine Sierra has earned her meteoric rise in the operatic firmament and yesterday, in a new-this-year season of vocal recitals has shown her mettle as a most engaging recitalist.  This young woman has it all--a silvery and focused soprano instrument, marvelous musicianship, perfect poise onstage, glamorous good looks and winning personality.

Along with the always excellent collaborative pianist Bryan Wagorn she delighted the audience who could not restrain themselves from applauding after every single song, and once before the song was over.  With great tact, she accepted the applause and moved on.  She is an artist from whom you cannot take your eyes--or your ears!

The first half of the program was Strauss, all Strauss and nothing but Strauss.  You won't hear any complaints from us on that account since it fits her voice like the proverbial glove.  If curator Matthew A. Epstein was responsible for that choice, we thank him.  We can never get enough Strauss. 

First we heard Acht Gedichte aus Letzte Blätter, Op10 with texts by Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg.  Ms. Sierra's fine vibrato and expressiveness well served the passionate "Zueignung", one of our favorites.  The jaunty "Nichts" followed and then the lovely "Die Nacht" on which Ms. Sierra impressed her own stamp of lovely stillness.  She seems to caress each word and lend it the appropriate color, and does she ever have a palette full of colors!  The set closed with the lyrically passionate "Allerseelen", another favorite of ours.  In that set, we particularly enjoyed Mr. Wagorn's pianism in "Die Vershwiegenen".

In the next set, Ms. Sierra's "Ständchen" was an invitation that no one could refuse; the charming text was by Adolf Friedrich, Graf von Schack who also provided the text for the following tender "Breit' über mein Haupt".  Have we ever enjoyed "Morgen" or "Cäcilie" more?  We think not!

The second half of the program began with Cuatro madrigales amatorios by Joaquin Rodrigo Vidre.  So you think you've heard them many times?  Think again.  Ms. Sierra invested them with deep Iberian feeling and rhythm.  The melismatic singing in "De los Alamos vengo, madre" was exceptional.

For Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras no. 5, Ms. Sierra was joined by the superb guitarist João Kouyoumdjian.  The text by Ruth Valladares Corrẽa was preceded and followed by the melody without words that allowed us to appreciate the beauty of the singer's tone.

The program concluded with Samuel Barber's Hermit Songs, Op.29.  Our favorite of this set was "The monk and his cat".  Ms. Sierra excels at painting a picture, but it is a picture that exists for just that moment in time, making it all the more precious.

Two encores were planned and the audience did not have to beg for them, a practice which we personally find distasteful.  The first was Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" sung as a tribute to Marilyn Horne whom Ms. Sierra credited for all the guidance she received from her.  (Before you ask, we found Ms. Horne's version on youtube.com and yes, it is gloriously inspiring).  The second encore was "Cuando m'en vo" from Puccini's La Bohème, sung in honor of Barry Tucker whose Richard Tucker Music Foundation supports this valuable series.

ⓒ meche kroop