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