ROMA

Kristin Gornstein, Michael Brofman, Stanichka Dimitrova, Nana Shi, Tami Petty, and Michael Kelly

Roma! Perhaps you thought the name of this review referred to the Italian 

Capitol.  It does not! It refers to a people without a homeland, a people both revered and despised, sometimes scorned--but in the 19th c. elevated to a position of artistic reverence by the quest for exoticism inherent in the Romantic tradition. (We felt like writing ROMAntic.)

In its tenth anniversary season, the Brooklyn Art Song Society, helmed by pianist Michael Brofman, chose a theme of national identity as expressed through music, encapsulated by the word "Home". What a splendid theme! Last night we heard the first concert of the season, one which focused on the Roma people. 

Although we came for the songs and enjoyed the program immensely, what lingers in our ears is Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2 in C-sharp minor, one of our favorite keys. This was the first time we experienced the piano artistry of Nana Shi. One minute she was giving perfect pianistic support to the gifted soprano Tami Petty and the next, without pause for applause, she launched into this rhapsodic Rhapsody which likely symbolises best the feeling of gypsy music.

The trills made us think of the flutter of hummingbird's wings and the playing in the upper register suggested the sound of the cimbalom. Liszt's melodic invention is astounding and Ms. Shi's brilliant technique gave different colors to the mad succession of themes. We particularly enjoyed the wild abandon of the fast section which had us almost dancing in our chair.

We don't want to give short shrift to Ms. Petty's performance of Liszt's evocative "Die drei Zigeuner". Ms. Petty is a consummate storyteller, using a variety of dynamics and vocal coloration to tell the tale. The timbre of her voice is gorgeous and she knows how to spin a top note into a silken thread of sound. We had to stifle our applause until the end of the instrumental piece but we enjoyed the buildup of tension.

Mr. Brofman himself accompanied baritone Michael Kelly for Antonín Dvorák's Zigeunerlieder Op. 55. We have heard this cycle of seven songs sung in Czech (fantastic), in German (wunderbar), and in English (meh!)--but somehow we never heard it sung by a man and we don't know why. Mr. Kelly's delivery was meticulous and passionate at the same time. The text fulfills every fantasy anyone ever had about the free gypsy life and Mr. Kelly gave it full expression. We enjoyed the melismatic passages in "Mein Lied ertönt" but our favorite was "Als die alte Mutter". Each song is a painting and all together they formed a magnificent mosaic.

Ms. Shi is equally excellent as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist. The lush violin playing of the adorably named Stanichka Dmitrova reminded us of how like the human voice is the violin. The two artists seemed to breathe together whether in the long legato lines (like an operatic aria) or in the spirited and fiery plucked passages (like a cabaletta).

For our 19th c. ears, Pablo Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen Op. 20 held a bit more interest than the more modern Tzigane by Maurice Ravel which opened with a prolonged solo and kept Ms. Dimitrova in the lower register for quite some time whilst Ms. Shi's fleet fingers raced up and down the keyboard. It sounded to us like a deconstruction of gypsy melodies, as if the themes were cut in pieces and thrown into the air to land in a new arrangement.

We wish we could say something lovely about Brahms' Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 but there is just something about the use of the music stand that distracts and distances us from the artist. We have heard and enjoyed Kristin Gornstein's pleasing mezzo-soprano on prior occasions but last night we were bored and our attention wandered. There was one lied in the cycle of eight that did pull us in. "Wißt ihr, wann mein Kindchen" is a song in which a boy and girl take turns expressing what they like about the other, offering the singer an opportunity to alter the coloration to suit.

Let us not fail to mention the encore--a tribute to the late Jesse Norman. Ms. Petty sang Strauss' Morgen, putting the audience in a pensive mood, quite a change from the high-spirited gypsy songs.

The theme of "Home" will continue on November 1st with Chants D'Auvergne by Joseph Canteloube; the complete cycle will be performed at the Brooklyn Historical Society.

© meche kroop

MÉLODIE FRANÇAISE DE LA BELLE EPOQUE

Annie Rosen, Daniel Schlosberg, Michael Brofman, Kristina Bachrach, Dimitri Dover, Eric Jurenas, Michael Kelly, and Brad Balliett

We were wondering whether there were lovers of art song in Brooklyn before Michael Brofman established the Brooklyn Art Song Society. Watching the growth of B.A.S.S. over the past seven years hints at Mr. Brofman's dedication to producing an excellent series that has attracted an ever-increasing audience. Clearly, word has gotten out because last night the house was packed in spite of the arctic shiver in the air.

BASS' programs are always compelling and this season has been devoted to French mélodie. Last night's program focused on music of La Belle Époque, the half century prior to the First World War, a time when Paris was the center of culture, much of it avidly consumed by the bourgeoisie.

Opening the program was the engaging soprano Kristina Bachrach with Mr. Brofman himself at the piano, offering songs by Gabriel Fauré, each one a precious gem. Ms. Bachrach is a polished performer with great stage presence; she employed fine phrasing of Fauré's long Gallic lines and excellent French pronunciation, along with just the right amount of expressiveness.

We enjoyed the lively "Mandoline" which always makes us think of Fragonard's paintings, although he died before Verlaine wrote the text which was set by Fauré. We were less familiar with "Le Secret" with it's lovely text written by Armand Silvestre, here performed with great tenderness.

In "Après un rêve" Ms. Bachrach made good use of word coloration and dynamics to paint an aural portrait.  "Clair de lune" gave her the opportunity to show the brilliance of her upper register. "Les roses d'Ispahan" showed off Mr. Brofman's artistry in bringing out the exotic nature of the melody.

We were quite excited about hearing the marvelous baritone Michael Kelly who always astonishes us with the depth of his involvement with the material he sings.  But last night his being "on the book" severely impaired his involvement with the audience and left us cold. When this happens, our attention generally turns to the piano and this was a revelation.

Dimitri Dover, a pianist we have always enjoyed, was in top form limning Emmanuel Chabrier's arpeggi in "Chanson pour Jeanne".  His handling of the repeated chords in "Tes yeux bleus" with emphasis on each minor change clearly demonstrated Richard Wagner's effect on Chabrier.

We have long enjoyed Henri Duparc's setting of Charles Baudelaire's "L'invitation au voyage" but have never heard Chabrier's setting which involves the addition of the bassoon. We love the sound of this instrument and it was a treat for us to sit but six feet away. It was quite an experience, adding depth to the sonic tapestry.

Countertenor Eric Jurenas lent his lovely instrument to a quartet of songs by Reynaldo Hahn. We adore that fach and our companion, who generally does not, loved his performance as much as we did. Hahn's melodies stayed with us all night and are still spinning around in our brain. Hearing these songs sung by a different voice type was a special treat. Mr. Jurenas has a very appealing vibrato and just about the clearest French we have heard in a long while. Looking at the text was totally unnecessary; every word was understood.

Victor Hugo's text "Si mes vers avaient des ailes" is a song that depicts what songs do. Indeed, Mr. Jurenas' expressive voice gave wings to Hugo's verses. Another favorite of ours is "À Chloris" and Mr. Jurenas sang it as expressively as we have ever heard it and Mr. Brofman's piano brought out the turns that lend such interest to the simple melody.

The second half of the program comprised Hector Berlioz' group of songs "Les nuits d'été" with text by Théophile Gautier. Mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen and collaborative pianist Daniel Schlosberg partnered beautifully in these evocative songs. We have often heard Berlioz' orchestration of these songs but last night we heard the original piano and voice version.

We are not sure what the songs have to do with summer nights after the opening "Villanelle", a charming and tuneful song that produced images of Spring on the coldest night of the year (or perhaps the coldest night of the past several years). "Le spectre de la rose" expresses a gorgeous sentiment that Fokine used as inspiration for a ballet. (However, the choreographer used music by Carl Maria von Weber). Ms. Rosen's expressive singing brought the story to vivid romantic life with some hopeful upward leaps.

She used entirely different coloration for the sorrowful "Sur les lagunes" which employed the lovely lower register of her instrument. We thought "Absence" fit her voice perfectly and it wound up being our favorite song of this group. The closing song "L'ile inconnue" was most revealing of Ms. Rosen's personality. It was altogether a sublime performance.

(c) meche kroop

LOTNY--Not so little

Little Opera Theatre of New York

In celebration of Carlisle Floyd's 90th birthday, LOTNY presented an evening of scenes from several of his works at the DiMenna Center last night; this presentation was part of New York Opera Fest's two-month-long festival featuring members of the New York Opera Alliance.

Although our 19th c. ears may never be completely able to wrap themselves around Mr. Floyd's 20th c. musical idiom, it would have taken a hurricane to keep us from hearing some of our favorite young singers make musical sense out of his work. Although his operas have been called accessible, our ears are often left hungry for melody. We had enjoyed a double feature of his operas last season and had loved the way they were staged and performed by LOTNY.

That the capacious performing space was packed is testament to the fact that there are many New Yorkers who find substantial nourishment in Floyd's music.

A special treat, one for which we were unprepared, was the presentation of scenes from his freshly composed opera Prince of Players in which he tackles the tale of the secret love affair between Villiers, Duke of Buckingham (tenor John Kaneklides) and actor Edward Kynaston (baritone Michael Kelly). The action takes place during the Restoration, when Charles II sat on the English throne and ended the careers of actors who had customarily portrayed women onstage. Good for women, bad for the guys.

If we have heard two singers creating more electricity together than Mr. Kelly and Mr. Kaneklides we can not recall it. The scene in which Villiers ends the relationship with Kynaston was heartbreaking and so was the scene in which Kynaston's dresser (soprano Sarah Beckham-Turner) comforts the injured actor. All three voices were excellent and the music seemed more lyrical than that of Mr. Floyd's previous operas.

The choice of material resonated more with us than that of Mr. Floyd's post-WWII opera Slow Dusk because somehow there seems to be a disjunction between the genre of opera and the plain home-spun country dialect of the libretto.  Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo got away with verismo; perhaps everything just sounds better in Italian.

Which brings us to that old bugaboo-- English diction. The higher the tessitura in English, the more difficult it seems to understand the language, putting sopranos and tenors at a distinct disadvantage, although the tenors on the program were perfectly understandable.

Ms. Beckham-Turner shared the role of young Sadie in Slow Dusk with Carolina Castells. Both sopranos sounded just fine, diction aside, with the bright focused voice of the former best suited to the ingenue quality of the first selection and the wider richer tone of the latter best suited to the tragic dimension.

Mezzo-sopranos Janice Meyerson and Jennifer Roderer shared the role of Aunt Sue with tenor Bray Wilkins performing Micah and baritone Robert Balonek reprising his role as Jess. Director Philip Shneidman, founder of LOTNY, did an excellent job of creating theatrical meaning without benefit of sets or costumes.

Also recalled from the double bill was Floyd's Markheim (1966), another good choice of theatrical material--a battle of wills between a desperate wastrel (bass Tyler Putnam, whom we admired so much in Santa Fe) and a steadfast pawnbroker (tenor Scott Six) that one just knows will not end well. The second scene was even more riveting when tenor Marc Schreiner appeared as the Stranger (maybe the devil?).

There were also selections from Floyd's 1980 political opera Willie Stark with baritone Ron Loyd delivering a powerful and persuasive aria about the law which is "like a single bed blanket".

The program closed with a selection from Of Mice and Men from 1969 with Mr. Balonek portraying the much put-upon but tolerant George with fine resonance and lucidity, and Mr. Six giving a convincing and moving performance as the mentally handicapped Lennie. They had a fine rapport in this moving scene.

Accompaniment was provided by Music Director Richard Cordova and Associate Music Director Catherine Miller.  The performing space, while generous in size, suffers from overly active acoustics and the piano sounded louder than it should have, at times threatening to drown out the singers.

Mr. Lloyd's most famous opera Susannah was not represented. Nonetheless, we left the performance feeling a bit more at ease with Mr. Lloyd's music than we felt when we arrived, thanks to the excellent work of the singers.

(c) meche kroop

SCHUBERT RENEWED

David Leisner and Michael Kelly

Although we have heard some atrocities passed off as transcriptions, this was definitely not the case last night when baritone (we'd call him a barihunk but the overworked appellation has lost its meaning) Michael Kelly joined forces with guitarist extraordinaire David Leisner for a riveting performance of our favorite song cycle, Franz Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin.  Mr. Leisner, a performing and recording artist of great renown, transcribed it himself and it owes no apologies to the piano from which it was borrowed. Had Schubert himself been in the room we think he would have been mighty pleased.

Wilhelm Müller composed the poetry in 1820 and Schubert set it over the next couple years, premiering it in 1823. Typical of German Romanticism, it concerns a youth wandering the countryside, presumably to find his pathway in life. A brook, which becomes a main character in the poetry, leads him to a mill where he finds work as an apprentice, falls in love with the boss' daughter, loses her to a hunter, and drowns himself in the brook.

This tale involves myriad emotions and Mr. Kelly's involvement was so deep and so intense that we felt every single one of them along with him--the carefree opening gives way to a sense of purpose, the joy of working, feelings of inadequacy, romantic longing, hopefulness, elation, anxiety, jealousy, anger, and ultimately despair. 

Mr. Kelly has a beautiful baritone but what distinguished his performance was the manner in which he employed it. The phrasing was faultless, the German diction crisp and clear in spite of a nearly Italianate legato, and the word coloring went beyond any we have heard before. It seemed as if he were painting with his voice.

This is truly a young man's cycle and we do not agree with those who believe that a man needs decades of experience to sing it well.  In our opinion, a young man is closer to the intense feelings of infatuation, of wanting to impress the idealized love object, of the despair of crushed aspirations. How vivid Mr. Kelly made it all seem! It was so real we wanted to shout out "Don't do it!  Don't throw yourself in the brook! Other lovers will come along." It was similar to the feeling we have when Siegfried refuses to give the ring back to the Rhinemaidens and we want to shout "Give it back, Siegfried, give it back!"  That kind of involvement is rare!!!

We are sure that the preparation involved in presenting this cycle was extensive.  So how did Mr.Kelly make it seem so spontaneous? This we cannot answer; such is the mystery of art.  But in our post-ironic age where disappointed lovers shrug and say "next" or "whatever" this sort of emotionality seems rapturous.

And what of the guitar arrangement? It was accomplished by Mr. Leisner himself and struck us as a masterpiece in its own right. Just as the piano originally assumed the role of emphasizing the emotional content, so did the guitar; we loved the softness of its voice and heard new things in the music.  We were held rapt for over an hour and wanted the performance never to stop. That's ART!

The recital was presented by SongFusion and lieder lovers are welcome to support their fine work on Fractured Atlas.org. You do want to hear more of this quality of work, don't you?  You do!

(c) meche kroop

SONGFUSION--Personified

Eric Sedgwick, Michael Kelly, Mary Mackenzie, and Samantha Malk

We have reviewed baritone Michael Kelly's performances on many prior occasions and have always been impressed, not only by the satiny quality of his voice but by his perfect diction and his ability to tell a story in a meaningful way.  This was the first time we have been witness to his talents as an impresario or producer.  Last night he curated an evening of songs at The National Opera Center. The photographer Matthew Morrocco, inspired by the songs, contributed photographs that were projected above the singers.  The songs in the program were in turn inspired by and organized according to the Chinese zodiac, involving not just animals but elements of nature.  The program notes were fascinating.

Mr. Kelly was joined by two outstanding young women whose vocal and dramatic skills matched his own. Mary Mackenzie has that bright shiny soprano that we love to listen to and Samantha Malk's mellow mezzo rested easily on the ear.  Both of them demonstrated the same superb diction as Mr. Kelly, making sense of works we have heard before and not cared much about.  Piano partner Eric Sedgwick showed a sensitivity of touch and great versatility, working equally well with the modern and the traditional.

As readers already know, our taste runs toward the traditional so it is no accident that our favorite songs fell into that category.  Ms. Mackenzie and Ms. Malk performed a marvelous duet by Brahms entitled "Jägerlied", exchanging question and answer.  Mr. Kelly's delivery of the fatalistic "Der Tannenbaum" by Richard Wagner was chilling and emotional.  Neither did he stint on the menace of Schoenberg's "Warnung"; it made us shiver.

Fauré's "Eau Vivante", a tribute to a spring, was given a beautifully bright and clear delivery by Ms. Mackenzie.  We understood every word of her French, even though the range was rather high.  She also excelled in Poulenc's "Tu vois le feu du soir", making good use of enough dynamic variety to make the several verses interesting.  

We enjoyed Ms. Malk the most in Brahms' "Von Ewiger Liebe", a song that always touches our heart.  She is a born storyteller and drew us in.  In terms of storytelling, however, nothing matched Mr. Kelly's dramatic telling of Hugo Wolf's "Der Feuerreiter", a song filled with horror.

In the category of more modern pieces, we liked Copland's "The Little Horses" in which Ms. Mackenzie made vivid contrast between the gentle soothing verses and the lively description of the types of horses the child would wake to have.  We like English best when good use is made of the clever rhymes it allows (as in Gilbert and Sullivan) so it is no surprise that we loved the humorous "Judged by the Company One Keeps" by David Sisco--given a sensational delivery by Mr. Kelly.

Of all the Britten songs on the program, we far preferred "A Charm", a setting of a 17th c. text by Thomas Randolf.  Ms. Malk gave it an intense delivery and captured the irony of trying to terrify a child into sleep!  But we also were quite taken with Britten's "Silver" because of the lovely poetry by de la Mare; Mr. Kelly made generous use of word coloring to enhance the effect. 

The program tied each song to an animal and/or an element, surely an unusual way to organize a program.  It had the effect of making us search our own Chinese zodiac sign on Google.  We like Western astrology better!  Although the concept of music inspiring photography, we did not succeed at grasping the connections and preferred to focus on the glorious voices.

© meche kroop 

GIVING SCHUMANN HIS DUE

Erika Switzer, Jazimina MacNeil, Michael Brofman, Michael Kelly, Tyler Duncan

1840 was a great year for Robert Schumann.  His legal battle with Friedrich Wieck  was won and he married his beloved Clara; he composed three impressive song cycles which were presented last night at Bargemusic by the Brooklyn Art Song Society which is also having a great year, garnering praise from the press for its thoughtful programs.  In spite of the rain, wind, flooding and subway delays, the floating barge was filled with lovers of lieder who maintained exquisite silence the better to hear three gifted interpreters give their all.

The program opened with Tyler Duncan who performed the nine songs of Liederkreis von Heinrich Heine, Opus 24.  Along with collaborative pianist Erika Switzer, he conveyed the many moods in a most pleasing baritone.  The songs are about love--the anticipation, the sorrows, the bitterness of disappointment; Mr. Duncan did well conveying the passionate anger in the penultimate verse of "Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden", the bitterness of "Warte, warte, wilder Schiffman" and the gentleness of the final song "Berg' und Burgen schaun herunter".  The final verse of the latter draws a comparison between the lover and a river that conceals darkness and death in its depth--a painful ending to be sure.  Ms. Switzer matched his skill continually and beautifully conveyed the pounding of the poet's heart in "Lieb' Liebchen, leg's Hänchen".

Mezzo-soprano Jazimina MacNeil did equal justice to Liederkreis von Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Opus 39.  From the first phrase of "In der Fremde", one could sense her total immersion in the text with its profound feeling of alienation.  A quick change to bliss followed in "Intermezzo".  Our personal favorite was "Waldesgesprächt" which permitted Ms. MacNeil to change colors from the seductiveness of the man and the revenge of the witch Loreley.  We also loved the joy of "Die Stille" and the gentle expansiveness of "Mondnacht".  There was not a single false note in the emotional content.

Ms. Switzer also got to show her stuff especially in the different types of rustling.  In "Schöne Fremde", the treetops rustle and we heard a different sort of rustling of the brooklet in "In der Fremde".  Hunting horns could be heard in "Im Walde" and the excitement of triumph was heard as the cycle ends with the poet claiming his beloved.  There was one heart-stopping moment of the cycle in "Auf einer Burg" which limns the stone statue with ponderous chords, evokes a wedding party then in one line mentions that the bride is weeping.  One is left with unresolved feelings as the music never quite resolves.  Piano and voice just seem to hang there suspended.

The final cycle of this generous program comprised baritone Michael Kelly's performance of Dichterliebe, Op. 48, setting of texts by Heinrich Heine.  From the very first phrase we recognized the voice of an artist.  His light baritone has a beautiful tenorial quality and was employed with a depth of expression that left us hanging on every word.  Mr. Kelly somehow manages to caress each word as if he could taste it; and therefore we do as well.  The excitement of "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne" was palpable.  The ponderousness of the cathedral in Köln could be felt as well as the tenderness toward the Virgin Mary.  The false gaiety and irony of "Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen" could not be missed, nor the hyperbole of the burial of the angry old songs in a huge coffin in the final song "Die alten, bösen Lieder".

Mr. Kelly's totally fulfilling performance involved Michael Brofman, the Founder and Director of the Brooklyn Art Song Society, as collaborative pianist, a role in which he too shines brightly.  We particularly liked his work in "Ich will meine Seele tauchen" and his fleet fingering in "Und wüssten's die Blumen"; he brought out the lyricism of the memorable melody of "Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen" that we cannot get out of our head.  The two artists make a fine pair!

What a wonderful programming feat it was to assemble three magnificent song cycles and three magnificent singers to share them with the audience!  As long as Mr. Brofman and BASS are around we do not have to worry about the future of art songs in the USA.  Long may they thrive!

© meche kroop

KEN NODA FILLS OUR EASTER BASKET

Ken Noda

The collaborative piano work at Schubert&Co. has left nothing to be desired; Artistic Directors Jonathan Ware and Lachlan Glen are equally superb.  Still, to have the illustrious Ken Noda to come and play with tenor Alexander Lewis is another feather in the Schubert&Co. cap.  Mr. Lewis hails from Down Under but his singing is strictly Tip Top; his musical theater background served him well in the set of songs in which a very young Schubert availed himself of the poetry of Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty.

Mr. Lewis interpreted the songs with as much nuance as Mr. Noda did at the piano, emphasizing every subtlety.  We enjoyed the seasonal contrast between "Winterlied" and "Frühlingslied" but we especially loved "Die Mainacht" and would love to hear Schubert's setting on the same program as Brahms'.  In "Die frühe Liebe" the humor was conveyed with Mr. Lewis' entire body.  Fortuately, the songs had been committed to memory and there was no music stand interposed between his intense performance and the appreciation of the audience.

The remainder of the program was superb in different ways.  Mezzo Jazimina Macneil's warm and richly round voice plus astute word coloring  were well used in the opening set, settings of poetry by Aloys Wilhelm Schreiber, Josef Ludwig Stoll and Johann Ladislaus Pyrker.  Mr. Ware's soft touch in the piano gave way to some powerful playing that emphasized the mystery and awe of Pyrker's "Die Allmacht".  That was some fine teamwork!

Soprano Simone Easthope has a brilliant sound that resonates to the farthest reaches of Central Presbyterian Church, where most of these Schubert@Co. recitals are held.  Mr. Glen's piano and her voice melded to perfection in two of our favorite Rückert lieder "Du bist die Ruh" and "Sei mir gegrüsst".  Familiarity tends to please the ear and we were contemplating how much more we would appreciate a second and third hearing of some of the less well known lieder we have been hearing all year at these thrilling recitals.

And finally let us commend the outstanding baritone Michael Kelly who was also accompanied by Mr. Ware.  Two lovely Schreiber songs, the romantic "Der Blumenbrief" and "Das Marienbild" were followed by the familiar "Lachen und Weinen" with its poignant major-minor shifts and the unbearably mournful "Das ich hier gewesen" with its descending scale motif.  One could write an entire paragraph on what Mr. Kelly did with the word "verlangen" in Rückert's "Greisengesang".

Once again Schubert&Co has provided us lieder lovers with a cause to rejoice.  Our Easter basket has been filled to overflowing.

© meche kroop

 

A WINTER'S JOURNEY

Wilhelm Muller

Franz Schubert

In a near-magical synchronicity, our non-wintry winter here in New York became wintry just in time for Schubert&Co's presentation of Schubert's heart-breaking 1828 song cycle Winterreise.  The full moon last night was icing on the cake.  Walking along Central Park South by moonlight on the way to Central Presbyterian Church did much to establish the mood for the completely satisfying recital to follow.

We do not know whether the poet Wilhelm Müller experienced such terrible romantic disappointment in his life but he died young, a year before Schubert set his poetry to music.   Neither do we know whether Schubert experienced such grief.  We wonder whether it is the artists' imagination that allows them to plumb the very depths of the human soul.  We certainly hope that baritone Michael Kelly and collaborative pianist Jonathan Ware have never descended to such emotional depths and that they never will!

A better partnership could not be imagined.  Mr. Kelly's satin instrument and fine technique were utilized and augmented by astonishing interpretive skills in a way that made them all subservient to the intense inner journey that he seemed to undergo--a tragic descent from romantic disappointment into psychotic depression, complete with hallucinations.  There was no doubt in our minds that the crows were heard, the many suns seen.  Perfect German diction allowed any listener with even a meager knowledge of German to understand what was transpiring.

This is an interesting contrast with Müller's other collection of poetry set by Schubert and entitled Die Schöne Müllerin.  In that cycle, the hero describes an elaborate story of leaving home, finding work as an apprentice miller, falling in love with the miller's daughter, being supplanted in her affection by a hunter, and seeking death in the waters of his beloved brook.  In the case of Winterreise, the poet begins his journey following the romantic rejection; the outer journey through an icy landscape is symbolic of the inner journey he makes through his frozen internal landscape.

Schubert shows us a baker's dozen varieties of despair in this cycle and each one is different in tone.  Often there are changes of mood within the same song, achieved with changes of key, mode and rhythm.  The intensity of Mr. Kelly's performance was equaled by the intensity and subtlety of Mr. Ware's pianism.  The two artists seemed to breathe together.

This inspired teamwork never called attention to itself but existed solely to serve the music.  It was an astonishing evening and merited the prolonged standing ovation at the conclusion.  Our tears dried and the lump in our throat vanished but the catharsis lasted all night.  Bravissimi!

(c) meche kroop

WILHELM MEISTERS LEHRJAHRE

Franz Schubert was but a babe in arms when Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, a classic of German Romanticism; the two seminal artists never met but Schubert was inexorably drawn to Goethe's poetry and set his work more often than any other poet.  Most lovers of lieder are fond of the songs related to the aforementioned novel, particularly the songs connected with Mignon, one of the characters who made a great impression on the hero during his wanderjahre.

These songs were given a compelling shape by the artistic directors of Schubert@Co. at yesterday's recital.  While Jonathan Ware took on the collaborative piano work for the first half of the program, Lachlan Glen provided the narration directly from the novel, a narration that stitched the songs together into a meaningful evening.  We are familiar with the fine work of all the singers involved in the recital and we have never heard them so intensely involved and so present.  We attribute this to the effective dramatic concept.

Baritone Michael Kelly, who will be singing Die Winterreise next Saturday evening, opened the program with "Wandrers Nachtlied I," D.224 and closed the program with "Wandrers Nachtlied II", D. 768.  His arresting performance was marked by exquisite word coloring such that "süss" sounded just like honey tastes and "schmerz" produced an ache in our chest.  Bass-baritone Evan Hughes performed "Der Sänger" with his customary dramatic flair, but it was "flair squared".

Soprano Raquel Gonzalez sang "Heiss mich nicht reden" and "So lasst mich scheinen", also known as Mignon I and Mignon II from D. 726 and D. 727 respectively, using her gorgeous instrument to successfully evoke the plaints of a troubled child.  Following Mr. Kelly's lovely "Harfenspieler II" D.480, the collaborative piano was taken over by world-renowned Malcolm Martineau who, like Warren Jones, seems to breathe along with the singer.  His participation was evidence of the importance of Schubert@Co.'s artistic mission, a genuine treat which did not in any way detract from Mr. Ware's excellence in the first half of the program.

"Grenzen der Menschheit", D. 716 permitted Mr. Hughes to show off his vocal power at the bottom of the register with consummate expressiveness.  Baritone Jesse Blumberg gave an astonishing performance of "Gesänge des Harfners I, II, and III" (D. 478, 480, and 479 respectively), songs of such grief and loneliness that our eyes filled with tears.  Mr. Blumberg caressed each word, seemingly enjoying the flavor.  The result was riveting.

Ms. Gonzalez followed with "Nur wer die Sehnsuch kennt", D.359, not the version with which we are most familiar, but equally tragic and moving.  Soprano Simone Easthope took over from there with "Kennst du das Land" D.321; her just-right vibrato and involvement with the song made the far-off land for which Mignon pines completely visible in the mind's eye.  She followed this with "Gesange aus Wilhelm Meister I, II, III and IV", all from D.877.  This included a new setting of "Heiss mich nicht reden" and the version of "Nur wer die sehnsucht kennt" with which we are most familiar.  We felt like we were meeting a dear old friend wearing beautiful new clothes.

It would seem that Schubert just loved setting these songs over and over again, that the singers loved singing them, and the audience loved hearing them, as evidenced by the standing ovation at the end of the recital.

One cannot fail to be impressed by the hard work, love and dedication of everyone concerned with Schubert&Co.  There are many more recitals to come and lovers of lieder will be sated by the end of the project.  Or...maybe they will want a repeat next year!

(c) meche kroop