LIEDERABEND IN HALF

Minjung Jung and Seiyoung Kim

It was a nasty night of wind and rain and broken umbrellas but our trip to Juilliard seemed worthwhile, even though we were not able to stay for the entire program, due to a prior commitment.  It is always worthwhile to be introduced to young artists we may not have heard before.

First on the program was tenor Seiyoung Kim who has the lovely clean and warm tone that a young tenor should have.  His performance of songs by Schubert and Beethoven impressed us by its musicality.  We liked his phrasing, the clarity of his German diction, and the variety of dynamics with which he made the line interesting. 

His onstage presence is confident and unfussy with most of the expressiveness emanating vocally. The texts bore a great deal of repetition but his change of coloration made each repetition sound fresh.  Beethoven's upbeat "Adelaide" stood in contrast with the composer's downbeat "Resignation". Minjung Jung's piano accompaniment gave full throat to the nightingales!

From Schubert's oeuvre, he contrasted the melancholy "Erster Verlust" with the joyful and passionate "Ganymed", reminding us of Schubert's fortunate attraction to the poetry of Goethe.  There is much to be said, in terms of planning a program, for alternation of moods!

Perhaps that was what was missing from the set of Schubert songs performed by bass Andrew Munn who was accompanied by Nathaniel LaNasa. Songs written for the bass fach are generally dark but after a group of grim songs we noticed our spirits sinking and longed for something cheerful.  It was well that Mr. Munn ended with the sanguine "Der Schiffer".

The bass fach is a late-blooming one; Mr. Munn surely has the stuff at the lower end of the register but has plenty of room to develop the overtones that will make his voice more varied and interesting. He has a strong presence onstage and is generous with gesture.

The final singer we had time to hear was soprano Kathryn Henry, with the always excellent collaborative pianist Cherie Roe. She sang two chansons in graceful French that needed only a little refinement of the nasal vowels and more legato in the line, to be superbe.  In Cesar Franck's "Nocturne" we loved the top note floating effortless into the stratosphere.

Ernest Chausson's "Chanson Perpetuelle" is lengthy and sad but Ms. Henry kept it interesting.  We were sorry to leave before the final two sets.

(c) meche kroop

THE WOLF AT JUILLIARD'S DOOR

Jake Alan Nelson, Dror Baitel, Michal Biel, Katelan Terrell, Sora Jung, Adam Rothenberg, Sophia Kaminski, Kara Sainz, and Liv Redpath

The beautiful program of Wolf songs at Thursday's Liederabend at Juilliard required no lengthy academic introduction. Some folks get a lot out of context, but we prefer to let the music speak for itself. Hugo Wolf's songs are somewhat less accessible than those composed by Schubert but become more interesting with every hearing

The songs on the program were all settings of poetry by Eduard Mörike.  The five singers who performed them were topnotch, as were the five collaborative pianists. We were very impressed by baritone Jake Alan Nelson who is a natural born storyteller. There is a lot of breadth and resonance in his instrument but it is the personality and connection with the audience that got our attention.

In the opening lied, "Fussreise",  he took us for a walk in the countryside with a lot of enthusiasm.  In the quiet "Um Mitternacht" he colored his voice completely differently. He invested "Zur Warnung" with a full measure of bibulous humor. But his performance of "Der Feuerreiter" held us spellbound with its macabre horror. His Collaborative Pianist Dror Baitel followed each mood and color to perfection.

Tenor Seiyoung Kim (who missed the photo op) has a sweet instrument; his voice fell softly on the ear. He exhibited a lot of warmth in "Jägerlied" and "Heimweh" but we liked him best in the charmingly frisky "Der Gärtner".  Sora Jung was his fine CP.

Soprano Sophia Kaminski employs excellent phrasing and we enjoyed her best in "Der Knabe und das Immlein". We attribute this to the fact that she translated the song herself. There was no mistaking the enhanced connection with that particular text. Her excellent CP was Michal Biel.

Soprano Liv Redpath made a fine showing with the excited "Er ist's" but was even finer in "Das verlassene Mägdlein", a mini drama that always breaks our heart. She caught all the humor and double entendre of "Erstes Liebeslied eines Mädchens". In "An eine Äolsharfe", collaborative pianist Adam Rothenberg magically recreated the sound of a lute on his piano.

Mezzo-soprano Kara Sainz has a distinctive sound that she can open up like a capacious golf umbrella. We loved "An die Geliebte" and in "Nimmersatte Liebe" she sang as if she herself had written the text.  Katelan Terrell was her excellent CP.

As usual, we walked out on air, overjoyed to have heard such fine music-making. The evening was coached by Cameron Stowe.

(c) meche kroop