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

VIVA LA FRANCE

Michael Brofman, Kristina Bachrach, Miori Sugiyama, Steven LaBrie, Brent Funderburk, Chris Gross, Jill Sokol, Samantha Malk, and Jesse Blumberg

For their eighth season, Brooklyn Art Song Society is presenting La France, a series of recitals of French art song, a thorough exploration of France's contribution to this compelling art form--a happy marriage of text and music--a condition in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Last night's well chosen program focused on the music of two titans of this art form, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. The latter was born in 1875, fifteen years after the former and thus his music belongs squarely in the 20th c.

Founder and Artistic Director Michael Brofman not only performs on the piano but wrote the extensive and informative program notes which taught us things we didn't know.  For example, we have heard Ravel's cycle Don Quichotte a Dulcinee many times and Jacques Ibert's cycle Chansons de Don Quichotte only twice without knowing the full story. 

Here it is, courtesy of Mr. Brofman. Film director G.W. Pabst commissioned the cycle for a film he was directing and Ravel's ailing health prevented him from completing the commission; it was then given to Ibert. The three songs Ravel finished were published as a cycle. We are glad to have both!

He also explained why both Debussy and Ravel decried the use of the term Impressionism to describe their music. Their precise compositional style is anything but vague and perceptual but rather deep and descriptive. Beware the tendency to categorize!

For last night's exploration of Ravel and Debussy, Mr. Brofman assembled a stellar group of singers, all of whom are familiar to us and cherished for their contributions to vocal performance. The French was impeccable all around and the Gallic style was consistently captured.

The first half of the program was devoted to the melodies of Debussy. His cycle Chansons de Bilitis belongs to our all time favorites and was finely realized by mezzo-soprano Samantha Malk, whose consummate artistry made the subtleties of interpretation seem natural. 

We remember well the first time we realized that the three songs represent stages of a woman's life and that the singer must evolve from the innocence of girlhood through the sensual passion of young adulthood and on to the disillusionment that comes through the destruction of a shared dream.

This was achieved by Ms. Malk in a way that seemed effortless, with shifts from delicacy to the expansion of tone during the heights of passion. Miori Suiyama's pianism shifted right along with her in perfect partnership. Did we mention that Ms. Malk has a gorgeous instrument with which to accomplish this?

Accompanied by the wonderful Brent Funderburk on the piano, baritone Steven LaBrie entertained us next with the cycle Fetes galantes. The program notes list Mr. LaBrie as a lyric baritone but we heard a lot more going on in terms of texture and resonance. Undoubtedly his voice has grown since we first heard him several years ago and our companion thought he was headed toward bass-baritone. Whatever you call it, we found it mature and rich.

We particularly enjoyed the skillful variety of dynamics in "Clair de lune" in which Mr. Funderburk's piano limned moonlight, splashing fountains, and birdsong. In the first melodie "En sourdine", there was an unmistakeable nightingale in the postlude.

To soprano Kristina Bachrach fell the responsibility of bringing out all the melancholy of the cycle Ariettes oubliees, featuring the poetry of Paul Verlaine (also featured in Fetes galantes). These are mood pieces with "C'est l'extase langoureuse" evoking feelings of sensuality and languor.  Gallic melancolie permeated "L'ombre des arbres" and "Spleen" evoked desperation and vaguely unsettled feelings.

It takes a true artist like Ms. Bachrach to do justice to this cycle with its many shades of grey. Only the central song "Chevaux de bois" is filled with energy. The gayness is deceptive and seems to be masking deep seated feelings of the futility of life. Mr. Brofman's piano was particularly evocative there as the wooden horses turned round and round and, in "Il pleure dans mon coeur", as his fingers made the drops of rain fall.

The second half of the program was devoted to the works of Ravel and we were completely thrilled by baritone Jesse Blumberg's storytelling in the cycle Histoires naturelles, settings of text by Jules Renard. In this cycle, creatures are anthropomorphized for our delight and amusement. The texts are perceptive and indicates the poet's response to each critter.

Along with a true lyric baritone that falls beautifully on the ear, Mr. Blumberg is the possessor of considerable dramatic skills, preening like the peacock of "Le paon", gliding smoothly over the surface of the water like "Le cygne", and tormenting other fowl with defensive intent in "La pintade". 

Who has not had a special feeling of privilege when a wild creature comes close! The fisherman in "Le martin-pecheur" has just had that special moment and Mr. Blumberg and Mr. Brofman at the piano shared that moment with the audience.

Ms. Malk returned for the cycle Chansons madecasses which is rarely performed because of the unusual instrumentation necessary to create the exotic environment of Madagascar. Jill Sokol contributed to the multiple sonorities with flute and piccolo with Chris Gross' cello filling in with its own sensuality. Ms. Sugiyama has the softest hands and plays with delightful delicacy.

The multiple sonorities blended into a sea of sensuality in "Nahandove". "Aoua" is a painful anti-colonial rant and "Il est doux" describes a man lying about wanting entertainment and food from the women.  The melody was haunting.

The final cycle was the aforementioned Don Quichotte a Dulcinee performed by Mr. LaBrie and Mr. Funderburk. The range was a perfect fit for Mr. LaBrie's voice and he sang with deep commitment to the music and the text. "Chanson romanesque" is romantically worshipful whilst "Chanson epique" is spiritually devotional.

The final song "Chanson a boire'" is usually performed by the baritone pretending to be inebriated and staggering around the stage. Mr. LaBrie's take on it was more a celebration of joy and we liked that spin a great deal.

There will be four more concerts this season at the welcoming Brooklyn Historical Society which is easily reached by multiple subway lines. There will also be a bonus concert on December 1st at the Old Stone House, a charming venue.

B.A.S.S. keeps ticket prices low so that everyone can enjoy these recitals, which are always well planned and equally well executed. Those who come at 7:00 can avail themselves of lectures by experts in the field. One always sees a packed house!

(c) meche kroop

COME TO THE CABARET....IN BROOKLYN

Spencer Myer, Kristin Gornstein, Justine Aronson, Richard Valitutto, Samantha Malk, and Michael Brofman

Last night at the beautiful Brooklyn Historical Society, the Brooklyn Art Song Society presented their fifth and final entry in a season devoted to Vienna in the first half of the 20th c.  It was a time of decadence, intrigue, and radicalism....and marvelous music. Cabaret was the subject of last night's sold out performance and we enjoyed witnessing three singers we love pushing their boundaries.

Cabaret is a broad term but, in our opinion, it should be naughty and counter-culture. To our ears, it sounds best in German because of the sound and taste of the words as well as the facility with rhyming. Toward this end, soprano Justine Aronson's performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Brettl Lieder more than fulfilled our expectations.  We have heard his "Galathea" performed onstage but we have never heard it the way Ms. Aronson sang it, with devilish glee.

Although she used the loathed music stand, somehow she managed to incorporate ample gesture to accompany her ironic coloration and the song became completely new. We believe she plumbed the depths of meaning and came up with pearls. "Gigerlette" and "Der genugsame Liebhaber" were replete with doppelbedeutung. Richard Valitutto made a fine collaborative pianist.

Her performance of a set of French cabaret songs was a far different affair--not satirical but soulful. We particularly enjoyed Edith Piaf's "La Vie en Rose", Poulenc's "Les chemins de l'amour",  and Erik Satie's "Je te veux" -- but it is Piaf's "Padam padam" that keeps going around in our head.  It's a song that we first heard sung by Kim David Smith who performs a totally different type of cabaret. The piano accompaniment of Artistic Director and Founder Michael Brofman sounded just right.

Mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein is well known to us from Heartbeat Opera, so we have never seen her without extravagant makeup design. Last night was the first time we heard her in recital format, although that word fails to describe the intense performance she gave of Kurt Weill's music, for which Berthold Brecht wrote the lyrics. Mr. Valitutto's piano was forceful but never overwhelmed the voice.

We far prefer "Mack the Knife" in German but Marc Blitzstein's translation is quite good and Ms. Gornstein made every word count.  In "The Ballad of Sexual Obsession" there was plenty of ad libbing, about a man with an orange face and stringy yellow hair, that had the audience laughing out loud. This topicality meets a major requirement of cabaret!

Accompanied by Spencer Myer,  mezzo-soprano Samantha Malik performed a set of songs by William Bolcom, making each song into a little opera. The songs are mainly about contemporary society. Ms. Malik's interpretations were all right on point--romantic disappointment, a party turned sour, an overnight date that lasted too long. The most familiar of the set was "Amor" which we have often heard and enjoyed as an encore number. But the hymn-like "Waitin'", short, sweet, perfectly written and sung, seemed out of place with the other songs.

Ms. Malik also performed some songs by Benjamin Britten, settings of texts by W.H. Auden. They were fine songs but did not strike us as cabaret.  Perhaps we need to broaden our definition but we found them lacking in satire and naughtiness.

Although this was the conclusion of the series on Viennese music, B.A.S.S. is not finished with their season. On March 31st there will be a fine program of Debussy, Hahn, Poulenc and Heggie at National Sawdust.

(c) meche kroop