FROM CELLAR TO SANCTUARY

Katelan Terrell, Michal Biel, Marie Engle and Äneas Humm in Songs from the Cellar

Before we tell you about one of the best art song recitals we have ever seen, we have some exciting news about the venue, shared by Alessandro Pittorino, Executive Director of Arts at Blessed Sacrament Church. 

The church has acquired a magnificent Steinway piano in the sanctuary so that recitals can be held there instead of in the cozy cellar. We had no beefs about the cellar but the acoustics in the sanctuary are undeniably better. And the piano has a particularly fine sound, especially as played by our two collaborative pianists Katelan Terrell and Michal Biel.

We have heard Robert Schumann's song cycles more times than we can count but we cannot recall hearing them performed better. The program began with mezzo-soprano Marie Engle, who sounds like eine engel, performing Frauenliebe und -Leben in partnership with Ms. Terrell. Perhaps it is our imagination, but having two women performing the cycle added a new dimension and kinda sorta made up for the fact that the text, written in 1830 by Adelbert von Chamisso and then set within the decade by Robert Schumann, involved men!

We do not know whether this was the poet's interpretation of a woman's life and loves or whether this was culturally accurate but the content would have us believe that a woman's life begins when she meets her future husband and ends when he dies! Nothing happens in between childbirth and widowhood!

In order to enjoy the many pleasures of the cycle, one has to set aside our contemporary view of female equality and self-fulfillment. The middle of the 20th c. seems just as remote as the 19th c.  Just ask your mothers and grandmothers!

The pleasures of the cycle are the perfect union of text and music and the marriage of vocal line to piano accompaniment. Last night, the extra pleasure was experiencing the many moods of the subject which our performing artists conveyed with consummate communicative skill.

"Seit ich ihn gesehen" is filled with wonder, bordering on awe. "Er, der Herrlichste von allen" is replete with excitement as the girl idealizes her beloved. In "Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben", she is overwhelmed by being the chosen one. In "Du Ring an meinem Finger" she expresses her exalted intent (like Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier) to devote herself fully to her husband; the ring symbolizes the husband-to-be. 

In "Helft mir, ihr Schwestern", the piano provides a wedding march for the girl's special day. In "Süßer Freund" she becomes more solemn as she hints to her husband that she is pregnant. We were enjoying Ms. Engle's word coloring all along but there was something special she did with "lust". The tempo increased as did the woman's heartbeat.  Yes, she has gone from girl to woman.

Her excitement over nursing her infant in "An meinem Herzen" seemed ecstatic--almost delirious.  And then....hubby dies. The terrible chord in the piano announces the shock and the woman experiences that frightening mixture of grief and anger that is so common in loss. Ms. Engle's coloring of the word "leer" (empty) gave us cold chills with its subtle alteration of vibrato. The piano postlude recalls the first time the woman laid eyes upon the man. 

We were left shaken, no longer scoffing at the archaic nature of the text. This was completely due to the intense involvement of Ms. Engle and Ms. Terrell. We might add that Ms. Engle's German was perfect and so clearly enunciated that we didn't miss a word. Titles were superfluous.

The second half of the program comprised a performance of Schumann's Dichterliebe, the likes of which we have never heard. Swiss baritone Äneas Humm came to our attention through the German Forum when he was but 20 years old and already famous in Europe. We loved his voice and communicative skills 3 years ago but we have noted an impressive development in the texture of his voice after just one year at Juilliard, where he studies with Edith Wien. His voice filled the sanctuary with overtones.

We have reviewed Dichterliebe half a dozen times within the year and three times within the past month!  We have not tired of it because each singer has offered a different interpretation. This is one of the distinguishing features of a great work of art. Mr. Humm's very personal interpretation was fully in the present. This was not a reflective summation of a love affair gone wrong. Mr. Humm seemed to be experiencing the events in the moment. Mr. Biel's piano supported that interpretation.

In "Im wonderschönen Monat Mai", the poet suffers from limerence but Michal Biel's piano hinted at a less sanguine reality. The vocal line trailed off unresolved and we began to hear some anxiety in "Aus meinen Tränen sprießen". The subject idealizes his beloved with intense excitement in "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne".

We loved the change of color with which Mr. Humm invested the voice of the beloved as she professes her love in the phrase "Ich liebe dich".  This is how the subject wants to hear it!

Things got dark in "Im Rhein, im heiligen Strome" when the subject became serious, spooked out by seeing the beloved's face in an inappropriate place (a portrait of the Virgin in the cathedral). The dark colors of Mr. Humm's lower register struck deep.

"Ich grolle nicht" is the song of the cycle in which we have heard the most variety. The subject seems to be keeping a stiff upper lip but the piano lets us hear the depth of his suffering. Mr. Humm artistically portrayed the melange of anger, bitterness, and pain.

"Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen" involved unadulterated bitterness with Mr. Biel's piano adding much emotional tone. His piano gave us brief respite in the gentle "Hör ich das Liedchen klingen" before the renewed bitterness and irony of "Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen" which was introduced by a jaunty piano tune.

Another highlight of the cycle was "Ich hab' im Traum geweinet" which began with a capella voice and was then punctuated by portentous chords. We also loved the twist at the end of "Allnächtlich im Traume".

Mr. Biel's descending arpeggi in "Die alten, bösen Lieder" served to highlight the subject's attempt to find closure by sinking a coffin filled with his old love songs into the waters of the Rhein. Was this just adolescent hyperbole?

We have read that the poet Heinrich Heine was satirizing Romanticism but we are not sure. That is what is so special about Schumann's setting and the singer's interpretive skills. That is the reason why we can hear this cycle several times in a month and not get bored!

Mr. Humm and Mr. Biel took us on an exhaustive emotional journey through joy and excitement to anger, bitterness, and despair, with a final acceptance. Fortunately we were not to be left in gloom.  Oh, no. There was a perfectly upbeat duet in which Schumann set a charming folksong "Wenn ich ein vöglein wär" performed by the two singers and piano four-hands. Somehow we were reminded of Brahms, which is always a good association.

"Songs from the Cellar" has gotten off to an impressive start, with all the artists coming from Juilliard. Ms. Terrell and Mr. Biel are the Co-coordinators of this art song series. The two have come a long way in one short season by providing top quality entertainment and artistry for the Upper West Side Community. We have watched with great pleasure the growth of the audience. We don't know yet whether they will change the name of the series to "Songs from the Sanctuary". It doesn't matter what they call it; it is worth your while.

We can barely wait for the Autumn season and promise to keep you informed.

(c) meche kroop

 

A BEAUTIFUL PERSSON

Malcolm Martineau and Miah Persson at Zankel Hall (photo by Fadi Kheir)

What is a recitalist to do when her vocal partner becomes indisposed?  Soprano Miah Persson was scheduled to give a recital with baritone Florian Boesch who was indisposed. We were not there behind the scenes to tell you how it went but we were in the audience in Zankel Hall and witnessed the end result. There was a revision in the program and in exchange for what we missed, we heard a lovely program from soprano Miah Persson who looks as beautiful as she sounds. One is not supposed to notice things like a singer's physical beauty but we confess it certainly adds to the experience.

Ms. Persson focused her program on songs by Schumann and was able to perform Frauenliebe und Leben in its entirety, a far better enterprise than singing excerpts. We love this cycle and never tire of it. We are always tuning our ears into the changes in a woman's life cycle and if Adalbert von Chamiso's text sounds sexist in our day and age, we care not a whit. It is fine for us to recognize how women's lives have changed and if 19th c. women derived their sense of self from the man that chose them, well, that's okay with us.

What we do miss, however, is what happened between the birth of the subject's baby and the husband's death.  Perhaps he died prematurely but, never mind, it's a wonderful cycle and we hope we never have to hear it sung by a man!  (LOL). Last night, Ms. Persson gave it all she had, and what she had was substantial. She captured the bedazzlement of a young woman meeting someone considered beyond her reach; she limned the incredulity of being chosen; she illustrated the call to maturity brought upon by her engagement followed by the excitement of the wedding which she shared with her sisters, whose childhood games she would leave behind.

Pregnancy brought new joys and the ecstasies of motherhood were beautifully captured; we cannot recall a more authentic performance of the phrase "Du lieber, lieber Engel, du, Du schauest mich an und lachelst dazu!" but it sounded so real that we wondered whether Ms. Persson has experienced motherhood herself.  Likewise, we felt all the mixed emotions one feels when a life partner dies--there is anger at being abandoned, mixed with the grief of loss, and the feeling that life (at least as one knows it) has ended.  Ms. Persson's effective coloring succeeded in showing the subject's maturation.

For us, this performance was the highlight of the evening and we greatly admire the manner in which Mr. Martineau gently supported the vocal line and the pathos of the postlude in which he repeats the melody of the first song "Seit ich ihn gesehen". Mr. Martineau has soft hands and a light touch; he is the perfect partner for Ms. Persson. His superb playing never ever upstages the singer and it is only when one submits to the mood of the song that one realizes the magnitude of his selfless contribution. Fortunately, Mr. Martineau had a solo on the program--Schumann's "Traumerei"--in which the silences spoke as effectively as the notes. We have noticed that in singers but rarely in the piano.

There were other wonderful Schumann songs. We particularly enjoyed the ethereal "Mondnacht" with Joseph von Eichendorff's evocative text; Mr. Martineau's prelude and interludes painted some exquisite aural pictures. Friedrich Ruckert's text for "Schneeglockchen" evoked a completely different but charming vision--that of the floral herald of Spring. Schumann had a real feel for Ruckert but Eduard Morike's "Er ist's" filled us with a similar but more passionate anticipation of Spring.

Ruckert's "Der Himmel hat eine Trane geweint" filled us with wonder and also makes us wonder why today's poets are producing such unlikeable poetry, leading to such unappealing settings! We also loved the charming "O ihr Herren" in which a poet, symbolized by a nightingale, seeks a quiet corner for his songs.

Robert's wife Clara appeared on the program as well with the passionate "Er ist gekommen" and the gentle strophic song "Liebst du um Schonheit". Although Mahler set the same text so beautifully, Clara's setting owes no one an apology. The melody remains in one's memory and pleases enormously.

Robert Schumann also set texts by Goethe and his music for "Nachtlied" amplifies the concise but pungent text. 

Mary Stuart's words written prior to her death (translated into German by Gisbert Freiherr von Vincke) did not thrill us like the rest of the program. It was a grim way to end such a glorious recital and we were quite relieved by the beautiful encore which we believe was Edvard Grieg's "Jeg elsker dig" and which we believe was sung in Danish. Please overlook our inability to distinguish one Scandinavian language from another! In any event it lifted our sunken spirits.

As one may have expected from a Swedish soprano, there were six additional songs by the Norwegian Grieg on the program. Grieg was influenced by Schumann and had a vast output, although there are only a handful performed regularly on recital programs. We favored the delightful "Lauf der Welt", sung in German, with Mr. Marineau's frisky piano adding to the fun. Grieg wrote for his wife Nina and the ecstatic "Ein traum" is one of those thrilling songs that deals with love fulfilled.

Fulfilled might be the best word to describe how we felt at the conclusion of this fine recital. If we have failed to mention Ms. Persson's pleasing instrument and her musical phrasing, it is because we were most taken by her artistry as an interpreter.

(c) meche kroop

GERMAN AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE SUNG

Henry Meyer-Oertel, Aeneas Humm, Magda Gartner, Babette Hierholzer

It was a special evening.  It was a VERY special evening. It was a most rewarding lieder recital given by the German Forum at the lovely home of German Consul General Brita Wagener, 42 stories above the congested streets of midtown Manhattan. 

There are two very special qualities to appreciate about the German Forum. One is the valuable performance opportunities they provide for German speaking young artists; the other is the valuable entertainment and stimulation they provide for their members and guests. Membership comes at a modest cost and the socializing before and after the recital is always gemütlich, whether one is German or not.

Last night's recital brought back two gifted artists whom we reviewed last February (review archived); we were thrilled for the chance to hear them again. The program comprised both lieder and opera duets.

Mezzo-soprano Magda Gartner opened the program with Robert Schumann's Frauenliebe und Leben, a highly dramatic song cycle he composed in 1840, just ten years after Adelbert von Chamisso wrote the poetry. We don't care that the poetry has been criticized for taking the position that a woman's life revolves around a man. This was written in the 19th c. and such was often the case. Listening to the text gives us insight into "a woman's love and life".  Indeed!

But listening to the music provides emotional content which amplifies our experience. Schumann's writing conveys many aspects of love, as it grows from childlike adoration to mature acceptance of the responsibilities of love, the satisfaction of motherhood, and eventually to the pain of loss.

It is up to the singer and collaborative pianist to show what the poet tells. Each time we hear this cycle we hear something new, as one tends to do with great music. Last night, Babette Hierholzer, Artistic Director of the German Forum,  accompanied mezzo-soprano Magda Gartner in a fine performance of the cycle.

Ms. Gartner's voice has a lovely caramel-toned timbre that she employs well with apt phrasing and lots of feeling. The frivolity of an infatuated young girl gave way to the serious consideration of the responsibilities of marriage. The ambivalent joys of the wedding day yielded to the unambivalent joys of motherhood. A new roundness of tone crept into Ms. Gartner's voice.  The hollow barrenness of widowhood in the final song was relieved by the postlude in the piano which reflected back to the beginning joy.

Ms. Gartner has a firm hand on all these colors; we sense that she is on the right track with her interpretation and that she will continue to develop even more subtleties of coloration.

We were as excited to hear an undiscovered lied as Ms. Gartner had been to find the score--in a flohmarkt, of all places!  Composer Robert Fischhof (1856-1918) came from a Viennese family with musical talent on both sides. He studied with Bruckner and Liszt, but his voice is his own. 

Ms. Gartner committed herself completely to his "Stark wie der Tod" which challenged the very bottom of her register but did not defeat it. The sentiments of poet Theodor Salzburg-Falkenstein came across beautifully and the vocal line swelled to a glorious climax.  We wanted more from this all-but-forgotten composer!

Taking over for the second half of the program was baritone Aeneas Humm, a youth of twenty years with a mature instrument that belies his tender years. Already famous in the German speaking world, his talent has been recognized and celebrated abroad. Here in New York City, this is only our second time hearing him but it surely won't be the last.

He chose to perform selections from Schumann's Dichterliebe, a cycle of songs about a poet's love, with text by Heinrich Heine. This cycle also requires many changes of vocal color as the poet moves from hopefulness to ecstasy and adoration of the beloved. Mr. Humm colored his voice darkly for the lower register of "Im Rhein, im schönen Strome" and conveyed all the bitterness in the ironic "Ich grolle nicht". In "Aus alten Märchen" he captured the dreamlike essence of a fantasy and changed abruptly when the poet confronts his reality.

It was such a pleasure to hear German sung by native born Germans without having to worry about diction!  But Mr. Humm also gave us a lovely song in fine French--"Le Fugitif" by contemporary Berlin composer Alexander Liebermann, whose work we so admired in last February's recital. The setting of text by Paul de Roux was rapturously rendered by composer, pianist and singer.

Next on the generous program were three duets by Mendelssohn, written originally for two sopranos. Settings of texts by Heinrich Heine, they allowed the two singers to adjust their voices to one another and blend in 19th c. harmony. Our favorite was the gentle "Abendlied", a contrast with the final song "Wasserfahrt", a propulsive song in which a sailor deals with the loss of love.

We were fortunate to have two encores--duets by Mozart--quite fitting since Mostly Mozart has just begun at Lincoln Center (reviewed yesterday). In "Il core vi dono" from Cosi fan tutte, Dorabella and Guglielmo pledge their love.  In "La ci darem la mano", from Don Giovanni, the eponymous hero succeeds in luring Zerlina to his castello.

Mr. Humm is returning to Europe and we hope we won't have to wait to long for his return.  Ms. Gartner however will be performing in the upcoming Dell'Arte season and we are looking forward to hearing her next month.  And so should you!

© meche kroop

ROUGE ET CHARBON

Renée Fleming (photo by Andrew Eccles)

We live in an age in which opera singers are expected to be beautiful and glamorous. An adoring audience was well rewarded last night at Carnegie Hall when the beautiful and glamorous soprano Renée Fleming was joined by the equally beautiful and glamorous collaborative pianist Olga Kern. We wondered whether we were at a fashion show or a vocal recital.  Let us get the visuals out of the way first.

For the first half of the program, Ms. Fleming appeared in a striking charcoal gown with a voluminous skirt and black elbow length gloves, the fingers of which were adorned with rings (bling credited to Ann Ziff for Tamsen Z) with Ms. Kern in a skin-tight strapless red gown that hugged her gorgeous figure right down to the knees at which point it flared out into a fishtail.  For the second half of the program, the singer wore a far more flattering red satin gown with matching stole, while Ms. Kern became the wearer of the charcoal, a stunning gown with lines similar to the one she wore for the first half. We were surprised not to find designer credit in the program.

And now we may move on from the arresting visual images to the aural impressions. The highlight of Ms. Fleming's performance was, for us, her third encore--"O, mio babbino caro" from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. If she never performed in that opera she certainly should have! The aria was delivered with all the passion Puccini wrote and we left Carnegie Hall singing it to ourselves, singing it all the way home. Ms. Fleming seemed far more comfortable with opera than she had been with lieder, although there were several highlights that lifted the evening out of the mundane.

The main problem was the unwelcome presence of the music stand which hampered her connection with the audience. She was not constantly relying on the score but kept it to one side. Still, every occasional glance down and every page turn broke the delicate thread that connects the audience to the singer and the song. 

Ms. Fleming announced that this was the first time she had performed Robert Schumann's magnificent song cycle Frauenliebe und leben and it seemed to us as if she were not quite comfortable with it. It was an appropriate choice of material, coming on the heels of International Women's Day and it is one of our favorite pieces of music; but the performance seemed flat and lacking in variety of color. The performance picked up toward the end with the sweet "Süsser Freund, du blickest" in which the young married woman reveals her pregnancy to her husband.  The final song "Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan" is a real heartbreaker but we were less moved than we generally are by this incredible work.

A group of songs by Rachmaninoff fared better and seemed to be a more comfortable fit for Ms. Fleming's lush instrument. We loved the heart rending "Sing not to me, beautiful maiden", filled as it is with depths of homesickness. The gentle "The Waterlily" was short and sweet, while the passionate "Spring Waters" seemed seasonally appropriate.

We particularly enjoyed Ms. Kern's piano solo. Rachmaninoff himself arranged "Lilacs" for solo piano and she imbued her performance with delicate filigrees of sound that took us right into Central Park's Lilac Walk which we visit every April.

Ms. Kern had another solo during the second half of the program and she dazzled us with "Feux d'artifice" from Debussy's second book of Préludes from 1913. One might say that the performance was filled with fireworks!

The set of Debussy songs was well performed by the two lovely ladies. We always love the langorous "C'est l'extase" but the final song "Chevaux de bois" was our favorite with its dynamic variety and excitement, all of which was captured by the two artists.

The final set comprised five songs by Patricia Barber and we would agree with Ms. Fleming that these are art songs; be they jazz or blues, they surely deserved to be on the program, even though they are not our taste. Ms. Fleming seemed very comfortable with them and appeared to be having a fine time, especially in the final song in which the singer gives the boot to a man who has served his purpose.

As encores we heard "Danny Boy" with Ms. Kern providing a most interesting accompaniment, and "Shall We Dance" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I  now playing on Broadway.

And then....to waft us homeward, the glorious "O, mio babbino caro".

(c) meche kroop

RÖSCHMANN AND UCHIDA AT CARNEGIE HALL

Mitsuko Uchida and Dorothea Röschmann

Highly celebrated in Europe but too little heard in the United States, soprano Dorothea Röschmann made a welcome appearance at Carnegie Hall last night with equally celebrated Mitsuko Uchida as her collaborative pianist.

The all-German program focused on two song cycles by Robert Schumann, both composed in 1840, during that very productive year when he won the court case permitting him to marry his beloved Clara.

The evening's program began with his Liederkreis, Op.39, a dozen songs of varying moods, one lovelier than the next. Ms. Röschmann's burnished soprano is flawless and focused throughout the registers and her musicianship is undeniable. There is something elegant and tasteful about her manner. One could call it unassuming.

There were times when we wished for more drama in the storytelling, as in "Waldegespräch"; we longed to hear the difference in coloring between the words of the rider and the words of the Loreley. 

Ms. Uchida is a highly sensitive accompanist and often we heard more of the mood of the song in her piano. In "Mondnacht" she made moonlight audible, to our delight. "Auf einer Burg" had the right haunting feeling. The searching atmosphere of several songs was unmistakable and emotionally affecting.

The ending of "Im Walde" was given a chill by both artists who lent their skills to the storytelling.

The storytelling of the final work on the program grew in power. Frauenliebe und leben, Op.42 is one of our favorites and we are always happy to see it on a program. The challenge for the singer is to convince us that she is a young girl still playing games with her sisters who then grows into womanhood during the course of the cycle.

The timbre of Ms. Röschmann's instrument is very suited to melancholy and grief. She was incredibly moving in the final tragic "Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan" but she was less believable as the excited young girl who falls head over heels in love with a man.

She did inject a dose of excitement into "Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben" but we wanted to hear a different color when the girl gives voice to the man's words "Ich bin auf ewig dein". We enjoyed the serious tenor of "Du Ring an meinem Finger" as the woman realizes the import of her engagement. Similarly we appreciated the quiet joy as she let her husband know of her pregnancy in "Süsser Freund, du blickest".

In between the two Schumann cycles we heard Alban Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder which we have recently come to appreciate, thanks to a recital two weeks ago by Mary-Jane Lee (review archived). Ms. Röschmann furthered our appreciation, thanks to a sensitive delivery that captured the elusive quality of the songs.

We particularly enjoyed "Die Nachtigall" because of its haunting melody; we got goosebumps when Ms. Röschmann sang the phrase "Die Rosen aufgesprungen". "Im Zimmer" we loved for its atmosphere; the piano did a great job of emulating dancing flames from the little red fire.

It was during the encores that we most enjoyed Ms. Röschmann. She removed some of the restraints and let loose with a shattering performance of Schubert's "Nur wer die sehnsucht kennt" and Stern Auditorium was filled with more emotion and a greater amplitude of sound than was heard all evening. As if this were not enough, it was followed by "Kennst du das Land", set by Hugo Wolf.  One can never go wrong with the Mignonlieder from Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre!

(c) meche kroop

THE DIVA FROM NEXT DOOR

Susan Graham (photo by Benjamin Ealovega)

What strikes one the most about mezzo-soprano Susan Graham is an unaffected quality that brings the audience closer than one would usually feel toward a major star of the opera world. One feels as if one could sit down over coffee and have a delightful personal chat.

Having revelled in Ms. Graham's public performances countless times (we will never forget her hilarious performance as the eponymous heroine of Offenbach's La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein at the Santa Fe Opera or her Octavian in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier) we were thrilled to our toes by the opportunity to hear her up close and personal for a most original program.

The circumstance was a benefit for Classical Action: Performing Arts Against Aids (an arm of Broadway Cares: Equity Fights Aids); Chris Kenney of that organization introduced Ms. Graham and told a bit about all the good things these organizations accomplish. This particular series was underwritten by the Michael Palm Foundation established in honor of Mr. Palm who supported the cause with private house concerts.

As to the program for the evening, what made it original was a concept devised by Ms. Graham and her irrepressible collaborative pianist Malcolm Martineau.  They wanted to present Robert Schumann's 1940 Frauenliebe und Leben (one of our favorite song cycles) but with variations, the variations being the interpolation of a variety of songs from the repertory which fit in with the various stages of a woman's life as represented in Schumann's cycle.

In her most engaging manner, Ms. Graham explained the work thoroughly for those in the audience who may not have been familiar with the cycle. She introduced a fact that was unknown to us--that the subject of Adelbert von Chamisso's 1830 poetry was, in fact, a governess who married "above her station". This seems to shed new light on her position of disbelief that the exalted man would fall for her.  As the Italians might put it..."Si non è vero è ben trovato".

We generally don't care for "concept" but in this case it worked well, thanks to Ms. Graham's heartfelt delivery and Mr. Martineau's seamless pianism.  The cycle begins with the wild excitement of a young girl over a presumably older man in "Seit ich ihn gesehen" which was well complimented by Edvard Grieg's charming "Møte", the excitement of which was felt in both piano and voice, without loss of phrasing or tonal quality.

"Er, der herrlichste von Allen", a paean to the beloved, was paired with John Dankworth's somewhat jazzy setting of the Shakespeare sonnet "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?".  The young woman's incredulity was expressed in "Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben" matched with Grieg's "Jeg elske dig". Although we are unfamiliar with Swedish, Ms. Graham's delivery sounded convincingly Nordic.

And now came the fun part! In "Du Ring an meinem Finger" Ms. Graham let loose with her dynamic dramatic skills and told the tale just as we wished to hear it--and even more so in Mahler's charming "Rheinlegendchen" from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. We were grinning from ear to ear as she mowed the wheat, cast the ring into the water, laid out the fish on the king's table, found the ring and put it on her finger. This was the ultimate delivery of one of our favorite songs that will always be remembered just as she performed it.

The wedding day song "Helft mir, ihr Schwestern" was followed by Ravel's "Tout Gai" from his Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques. As far as the honeymoon period, von Chamisso sort of left that out but Ms. Graham and Mr. Martineau filled in the sexual gap, so to speak, with two intensely erotic songs: Henri Duparc's "Phidylé" was given a shimmeringly subtle interpretation which was quite different from the other three times we heard it this week alone.  And Debussy's "La Chevelure" from Songs of Bilitis was performed better than we have ever heard it.

Now we return to the remainder of the Schumann cycle with "Süsser Freund, du blickest mich" in which the husband is made to realize (by voice and piano) that he is on his way to fatherhood. Tchaikovsky's lovely "Lullabye", which was new to us, paired well with "An meinem Herzen an meiner Brust" in which the woman is ecstatic over her new baby. (We wonder how Heidi Stober missed that one in last week's recital. See preceding review).

The cycle ends sadly when the man dies. There are no songs about married life!  She has a baby and he dies--hopefully not in childbirth. Wisely, that very sad song was withheld until the end with two other songs interposed. Hector Berlioz' "L'absence" from Les Nuits d'Été was a wise choice as it suggests perhaps a period of illness, and likewise Enrique Granados' "O muerte cruel" from Tonadillas en Estilo Antiguo which sort of prepares us for the shocking chord of the widow's anger in "Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan". Just hearing the color Ms. Graham gave to the word "lehr" was enough to make one weep. It is a complex song filled with emotions of bitterness and grief but ending with a postlude in the piano which reflects the melody heard at the beginning of the cycle, bringing the evening to a satisfying conclusion.

Lest the audience leave the recital in a state of deep depression, our artists gave us two delightful encores. Not to disappoint those of us who know of her fame in French, Ms. Graham sang Reynaldo Hahn's "À Chloris" with overwhelming beauty of tone and phrasing. Finishing off the evening with joy, we heard Artie Butler's "Here's to Life".  Indeed!

These two gifted and generous artists gave of themselves without reservation and that is exactly the spirit in which the audience received the gift.

(c) meche kroop

ELZA VAN DEN HEEVER

Elza van den Heever (photo by Dario Acosta)

Apparently, the 19th c. came late to South Africa but better late than never!  Last night at the acoustically amazing Weill Recital Hall we were fortunate to hear a set of songs by South African composers--songs about nature, mainly--contrasting the wonders of the veld with the tumult of the big city. The program was part of Carnegie Hall's UBUNTU--a celebration of South Africa. The songs were sung by the lovely soprano Elza van den Heever whom we much admired and reviewed when she sang Elisabetta in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda at The Metropolitan Opera.  The songs are gloriously melodic and stood up well next to the lieder by Brahms and Schumann that were also on the program.

Ms. van den Heever, in her recital debut, held the stage with a great deal of poise and has a bright penetrating soprano that seems comfortable in the high lying tessitura of the Händel arias with which she opened the program.  Both "Mio caro bene" from Rodelinda and "Ah! crudel, il pianto mio" from Rinaldo offered her the opportunity to show the flexibility of her instrument in the lavish fioritura.  Likewise she moved easily from one emotion to another in the various sections of each aria.  Piano partner Vlad Iftinca similarly moved easily from one mood to another.

But it was in Schumann's Frauenliebe und -leben that we were able to truly appreciate Mr. Iftinca's gifts, particularly in the postlude when the piano recalls the first meeting the young woman has with her husband to be.  Many women have protested Adelbert von Chamisso's poetry in which a woman has no life beyond childbearing and marriage; when her husband dies, her life is over.  But of course we recognize that this is an early 19th c. viewpoint and we don't care.  We love the music and hope that the singer will convey the woman's progress from adolescence to mature adulthood.

Ms. van den Heever accomplished this reasonably well, although the wonder of the young woman in "Seit ich ihn gesehen" did not come through as well as we'd hoped, perhaps due to the slow tempo.  Things picked up and by the time she got to the girl's wedding day in "Helft mir, ihr Schwestern" this rather reserved artist became excited and expressive, using her entire body, not just her voice and face.  It is clearly a matter of taste, but we prefer our singers to involve their bodies.  This expressive involvement was seen again in "An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust" in which the young woman expresses the joys of motherhood.  Likewise, her grief over her husband's death was quite moving in the final song "Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan".  And then came that stunning postlude!

The set of Fauré songs were beautifully sung.  Ms. van den Heever's quietness served her well here and these delicate gems were sung with lovely long lean lines, as French should be sung and rarely is.  We were particularly fond of the lilting "Les roses d'Ispahan" and "Clair de lune", in which Mr. Iftinca played the most gorgeous prelude.

A set of Brahms' songs was enjoyable, with more involvement of her personality.  We loved "O komme, holde Sommernacht" and the bittersweet "Die Mainacht".  

The set of songs in Afrikaans involved three composers: Stephanus Le Roux Marais, John K. Pescod, and Petrus Johannes Lemmer--all born in 1896 by strange coincidence. Perhaps in that year the planets were perfectly aligned for great music. We only wish that songs like these were being composed today.

We would like to see Ms. van den Heever let go a bit more so that the audience can share her involvement with the material. There is one other issue that hampers this lovely artist who has so much to offer. There was a problem with dynamic control. Her pianissimi were barely audible, her forte more like fortissimo; a smoother transition in dynamics would be welcome.

As encore, we heard Charles Ives' Memories--the pleasant memory of the opera house was given appropriate excitement and the nostalgic tune given appropriate melancholy.  A second encore was yet another song in Afrikaans, the name of which we did not hear.  

© meche kroop

ELINA GARANČA SINGS OF LOVE

Elina Garanča

With undeniable artistry the stunning mezzo Elina Garanča took possession of the stage of Carnegie Hall and invited us into her world, and what a world that was!  Her all German program happily focused on the 19th century with a brief excursion into the early 20th c. but with the same flavor of German Romanticism that we cherish.

Five songs from Myrthen, Op.25 opened the program; all were composed during Robert Schumann's most creative period.  He had just won a lawsuit that enabled him to marry his beloved Clara and presented  a bound volume of these songs to her on the day before their wedding.  There is a strong feminine emphasis therein and Ms. Garanča sang them with great delicacy.  At this level of accomplishment the artist is expected to excel in musianship and the intelligent use of her instrument and Ms. Garanča completely lived up to our expectations, and then some.  What is unique to her is her total comfort onstage and her special way of inhabiting each song as if she herself were composing it on the spot.

For us, the highlight of the program was Schumann's Frauenliebe und leben, Op. 42.  In this heartbreaking song cycle, the text by Adelbert van Chamisso describes the phases of a young woman's infatuation, engagement, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth and early widowhood.  Several of our feminist friends have found the poetry offensive but we are able to see the work in its context and within the limitations of early 19th c. womanhood.  What is remarkable is Schumann's ability to distill all the varying emotions represented in the text and Ms. Garanča's ability to interpret these feelings.  Each song became an aria, not surprising because of the singer's success on the opera stage.

We have always found Alban Berg's music to be rather inaccessible but his Sieben frühe Lieder, composed when he was barely out of his teens and studying with Arnold Schoenberg, are replete with Late Romanticism, somewhat reminiscent of Mahler's.  We have become completely taken with "Die Nachtigall" and cannot get the melody out of our head.  And for us, that is a good sign!  That Mr. Berg later tried to disown these songs matters to us not at all.  Ms. G. made as much sense of the text as she did of the music and we plan on giving them all a good listen in the near future.

The final set on the program comprised a half-dozen of Richard Strauss' youthful songs, all written when he was courting Pauline de Ahna.  They are juicy songs, just dripping with youthful passion.  We especially enjoyed "Allerseelen", setting of a text by Hermann von Gilm, and "Heimliche Aufforderung", an invitation to a secret rendezvous, with text by John Henry Mackay.  Perhaps Mr. Mackay was fluent in German because the poetry scans and rhymes beautifully.

There were two encores but we didn't catch their identity.  One was likely by Brahms and might have been "An di Nachtigall" and the other was a lovely Latvian folk song.

It is extremely difficult to create a feeling of intimacy in a hall the size of Carnegie Hall and an artist of this caliber could not be presented in a small hall and still accommodate all her fans.  That being said, she created far more intimacy than most.  We found her accompanist Kevin Murphy to be somewhat lacking in his involvement with her.  We are accustomed to collaborative pianists who seem to breathe in tandem with the singer.  Mr. Murphy's pianism was more enjoyable during preludes and postludes when one could appreciate his involvement with the music; but he didn't seem to be totally in sync with the singing.

© meche kroop