NATHANIEL OLSON

Nathaniel Olson (photo courtesy of Carnegie Hall)

Sometimes we can tell everything there is to know about a singer from the first set of songs.  In the case of the fine young baritone Nathaniel Olson, presented at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, we didn't really "get" him until the encores, of which there were two.

In the first, Mr. Olson sang "Die Neugierige" from Franz Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin and he sang it with all the youthful wonder and tenderness that is demanded by Wilhelm Müller's text.  We wanted to hear him sing the entire cycle.

The second encore was Aaron Copland's setting of an agrarian protest song from the post-Civil War period entitled "He's a dodger". This folk song was composed to discredit a presidential candidate who has been long forgotten.  But the song remains and Mr. Olson introduced it with a wonderfully original and persuasive preamble that revealed the personality that was rather hidden during the rest of the program.  The song pokes fun at the dishonesty of lawyers, politicians, salesmen, ministers and lovers--indeed, of everyone.

As far as the main body of the program, there was nothing to criticize except for the insecurity and inconsistency of the pronunciation of the final "g" and "ch" in German--a flaw commonly heard in American singers.  Sometimes the sound is omitted and sometimes it comes out as "ick". This should be simple to correct.

And yet, there was nothing in the program that thrilled us.  We wondered if Mr. Olson really loved the songs he sang.  In the program notes, he told of loving German lieder and Swedish songs since childhood.  So why then did his opening set of Schumann's Liederkreis, Op. 24  strike us as bland?  We adore Schumann and expected to be thrilled.  We were not.

Again, nothing was bad, and Mr. Olson clearly showed a lot of connection with his able accompanist and mentor Kevin Murphy.  Was it us?  Our companion was likewise unmoved by these poems of love yearned for, love anticipated, and love lost.  The lovely melody of "Schöne Wiege meiner Leiden" gave way to bitterness.  We heard it but we weren't "feeling" it.

The early 20th c. Swedish composer Ture Rangström set texts by many different poets but seemed to have a penchant for the unhappy. The songs fell on our ears with no more pleasure than the Schumann. Although Mr. Olson himself did the translation, we did not feel the connection we wanted to feel.

It is a rare recital in which we prefer the American songs but we thought Mr. Olson did justice to the lovely "Beautiful Dreamer" by Stephen Foster.  Many singers who have been associated with Marilyn Horne's program have paid tribute to her by including it in their programs and it is always lovely to hear.

Ned Rorem's "Early in the Morning", the setting of a text by Robert Silliman Hillyer, lent a note of charm and good feeling to the evening and Mr. Olson sang it beautifully with his pleasing baritone.  For once, we could visualize the circumstance and feel the pleasure of the poet.

Similarly, Aaron Copland's setting of the traditional folk song "The Little Horses" continued the pleasant feeling.  Mr. Olson and Mr. Murphy took the tempo very slowly allowing us to savor every word, and Mr. Olson exhibited a fine messa di voce.

We were unable to savor the set of Hanns Eisler songs from Ernste Gesänge which were filled with negativity, perhaps not the best choice of material.  The piano writing is jumpy and dissonant and the vocal line verges on the bombastic.

Of the Four Songs, Op. 13 by Samuel Barber, we most enjoyed the lighthearted "The Secrets of the Old" by William Butler Yeats in which three women are relishing the certain privileges of advanced years--the memories and the gossip.

We are holding open our opinion of Mr. Olson, hoping that the next time he presents a recital, he will let loose and reveal his personality. Perhaps someone told him to take it seriously but we'd like to tell him to lighten up!

© meche kroop

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTHEM

Spencer Myer, Leah Wool, Michael Slattery, Caitlin Lynch, Sidney Outlaw

"A Banner Bicentennial" marked the 200th birthday of our national anthem which has been sung and celebrated, revered and bowdlerized, during its entire existence.  Its birth, according to Paul Sperry, was a drinking song in 18th c. England.   Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics 200 years ago to celebrate America's victory in the "Second War of Independence" from Great Britain.  It took a century to be proclaimed as our national anthem and was established as such by a Congressional bill in 1931.  Prior to that time the melody was co-opted by abolitionists and the temperance movement.

But last night at the gloriously historic Federal Hall, this anthem received some mighty royal treatment as five artists gifted the audience with an evening of American song, produced by 5BMF (Five Boroughs Music Festival) and The Casement Fund Song Series.

As if the entertainment were not sufficient, Paul Sperry contributed interesting tidbits of information.  Until the end of the 19th c. there was no separation between popular song and "classical" song.  We could just visualize clusters of happy folk, friends and family gathered around the piano.

Today, popular music is heard on computers and boom boxes and other electronic devices and we sit in concert halls to hear live "art song" recitals with the very best songs originating from Germany, where all the great poets came from--and a set or two of contemporary American "art songs" that we rarely desire to hear again. Sadly, no one sings anymore!

So, it was a great pleasure to hear an evening of American songs culled from all genres with no distinctions made. Of course, the evening began and ended with "The Star Spangled Banner".  (Well, there were two fine folk songs that REALLY began the program but please allow us a bit of literary license.)

Mezzo-soprano Leah Wool sang the 1814 version, complete with an additional stanza that we'd never heard before.  The challenging high notes were so easefully reached that for a moment we thought Ms. Wool was a soprano but, as it turns out, she is a wonderful full-voiced mezzo with a stunning upper register.

The program closed with the quartet of fine singers in thrilling harmony singing an arrangement by Ross W. Duffin.  Versatile pianist Spencer Myer, so excellent in his partnering of the singers, had a chance to shine as a soloist when he played Charles Grobe's "The Stars and Stripes Forever: Brilliant Variations on the Star-Spangled Banner, Op. 490".  This was a mid-19th c. salon piece and required some fleet and fancy fingering.  We had a giggle when strains of "Yankee Doodle Dandy" made their appearance.

Our taste favored the folk songs and spirituals on the program.  Baritone Sidney Outlaw knocked our socks off with an a capella performance of "City Called Heaven". There was such conviction involved that we couldn't help but share the depth of his feelings.  That his baritone is so mellow and caressing just added to the aural pleasure.

Caitlin Lynch's bright and shining soprano did justice to Bernstein's "Simple Song" from his Mass.  In a lighter vein, she charmed us with Cole Porter's "Please Don't Make Me Be Good" from Fifty Million Frenchmen.

Tenor Michael Slattery dazzled us with Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom", accompanying himself on an Indian instrument related to the harmonium.  His fine vibrato and tender tone were perfect for Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" (made famous in our own time by Marilyn Horne) and in Bernstein's "Maria" from West Side Story.  His high notes seem to float in the air above his head.

Ms. Wool, so perfect throughout her entire range, was just as fine in Cole Porter's "So in Love" from Kiss Me Kate as she was in the more academic material.  Allowing each of the four singers to sing songs that they loved was likely responsible for the intensity of involvement that we experienced.  That is the essence of a fine song recital--it's all about communication.  The more involved the singer is, the more feeling is communicated to the audience; we leave such a recital feeling fulfilled.

As encore we were treated to the quartet of singers harmonizing in Barber's "Sure on This Shining Night" with beautiful lyrics by James Agee.  In spite of the rain that began just as we left Federal Hall, we knew that we had experienced "a shining night".

(c) meche kroop

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE....

Lachlan Glen and Kyle Bielfield (photo by Jordan Chaplecka}

What is the difference between a recital and a CD?  That's not a riddle but a question we have been asking ourselves during the fortnight since we came into possession of the chart-topping CD recorded by tenor Kyle Bielfield and collaborative pianist Lachlan Glen.

A number of answers come to mind but the most obvious one is that a recital is evanescent and very much "of the moment" whereas a CD is forever.  If you like it you can listen to it again.  And if you love it, as we do this recording, you can play it every day and find new delights each time you listen.

Another difference is the perfection that can be achieved in a recording studio that one cannot expect in a live recital. One other difference in this particular recording is that the songs have not been arranged in "sets" containing the works of one composer as they would be in a recital; rather they have been arranged to provide a balanced listening experience and to create a variety of moods by varying the tempi.

What is remarkable about "Stopping By" is the exquisite partnership between Mr. Bielfield's sweet tenor and Mr. Glen's fine collaborative piano.  All the songs are treated with equal respect.  The program notes distinguishe between "classically oriented" and "Americana".  We make no such distinctions.  Brahms set many folk songs which seem to our ears no less worthy than settings of renowned poets.

Our particular taste leans toward settings of text that rhymes and scans.  Thus it is that the songs of Stephen Foster, called "the father of American song" filled us with pleasure.  Made famous by Marilyn Horne in our own time, "Beautiful Dreamer" is here given an exquisite performance with a perfect ending in the upper register; in Foster's setting of the sad "Gentle Annie" Michael Samis' cello makes a lovely contribution.  Here is proof that a folk tune can be made into art.

Going from the earliest entry in this survey of American song to the most recent, Leonard Bernstein's "Dream with Me" tickled our ears with excellent phrasing on the part of all three artists, as did his "Spring Will Come Again" in which Mr. Bielfield seems to caress each word. Again, Mr. Samis' cello was a welcome addition to the music.

But our absolute favorite song in the album is Irving Berlin's "Change Partners"; anyone who has yearned for a person who was "taken" can relate to the futile hopefulness.  Mr. Bielfield's heart and soul was in this one!

A special treat is hearing three settings of Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening".  The splendid poetry seems to have inspired three equally fine but different compositions.  Perhaps the most accessible is that of Samuel Barber and the most melancholy that of John Duke in which the piano is given a superb prelude and postlude.  But Ned Rorem's is no less terrific for its spareness.

Two folk songs arranged by Aaron Copland captured the ear with their directness and simplicity: "Long Time Ago" and the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts".  Paul Bowles' "In the Woods" requires the singer to whistle in imitation of birdsong; to our ears it sounded exactly like a mating call; we loved it.  Ned Rorem's brief gem "Snake" had a slithery vocal line and a churning piano.

"From the Land of the Sky-Blue Waters" by Charles Wakefield Cadman is a lovely old-fashioned ballad with some nice figuration in the piano.  Charles Griffes "The Water Lily" has an impressionistic feel.  Songs by Amy Beach, Celius Dougherty and Mark Abel are also represented in this compendium of American song.

By now you will have realized that this banquet of song offers something for everyone to enjoy.  We have mentioned our favorites but with further listening we are sure to appreciate some of the less accessible songs.  Please feel free to comment below on your favorites!

© meche kroop

JOHN + MARIO = MAGIC

Mario Antonio Marra and John Brancy

When the judges of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition chose baritone John Brancy and pianist Mario Antonio Marra as their 2013 winners they chose extraordinarily well.  This pair made magic yesterday in their recital at the National Opera Center.  When Mr. Brancy performs Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe at Carnegie Hall (no doubt he will have that opportunity), we will sit there smugly knowing that we heard it in the intimate environment that the work demands.

Mr. Brancy is a born storyteller and sings from a place deep within; he sings in an expressive manner that never panders to the audience but rather invites the audience to join him on his profound inward journey.  Unlike Schubert's song cycles, Dichterliebe is an inner journey.  There is no leierman, no miller, no brook, no frost on the window.  There is just the singer and his tale of a love lost, indeed lost rather early in the cycle. 

The remainder of the cycle relates the varying emotions he feels as he works through the loss; we experience with him the stages of anger, grief, bitterness, despair and ultimately acceptance as he confines his old songs to an hyperbolic coffin given a burial at sea.  Mr. Brancy and Mr. Marra plumbed every emotional depth leaving us feeling emotionally wrung out but artistically satisfied.

We welcomed the respite of intermission to restore our equanimity.  Three songs by Dvořák followed and we recalled an evening at Juilliard when we spent an evening listening to and growing accustomed to the sound of the difficult Czech language.  The effort spent in learning to sing in Czech yielded a big bonus for the listener since the songs are beyond lovely.

The first two were settings of Greek poems about mothers and sons.  In the first, a woman is learning of her son's successes in destroying Turkish pashas and armies and the second related the tale of a shepherd who disobeys his mother's advice and plays his pipes for the Nereids.  A third song entitled "Cypresses" was about the pains of love and had some gorgeous melodies typical of the composer's nationalistic bent.

Following this we heard the premiere of Force, an impressive work commissioned by Gary Portadin--a collaboration between composer Chris Kapica, poet Robert Corsini and Mr. Brancy.  In a universe of ugly and meaningless contemporary poetry which has been set to equally ugly and meaningless music, this work shines as brightly as Jupiter in the night sky.  The theme of man overcoming a mechanistic world and achieving identity through creative self-definition is a worthwhile subject for exploration.  Mr. Corsini's poetry rhymes (!) and scans (!!) and Mr. Kapica's music expresses and augments the ideas both the mechanistic ones and the spiritual ones, challenging the listener without hurting the ears.  Mr. Brancy's performance seemed to come from a very profound place.

The program concluded with three 20th c. American songs that were given the same attention and respect as lieder.  In each case Mr. Marra played with the songs in his own superb arrangements that tickled the ear.  In Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" Mr. Brancy's beautiful baritone caressed each word as Mr. Marra's digits caressed the keys of the piano.  We heard some truly gorgeous floated top notes.

Jerome Kern's "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" was given a jazzy treatment by Mr. Marra in beautiful counterpoint to Mr. Brancy's sincerity.  Cole Porter's "Night and Day" offered a fine sense of fun with twinkles in the eyes. 

As an encore, Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" was sung in tribute to Marilyn Horne.  How many times we have listened to her sing this treasure on You Tube!  It was the perfect end to a magical recital.  We will fall into bed with some beautiful dreams of a well-spent evening.

© meche kroop