FLEUR'S GARDEN OF SONGS

 Myra Huang and Fleur Barron

Our happiest moments come from witnessing the growth of young artists that we admired as students. Often their career development takes them far from New York City and there is a considerable interlude during which we lose track of them. Such was the case with the truly gifted mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron. It has been at least ten years since we heard her sing in a master class at Manhattan School of Music, led by Martina Arroyo and Maestro Jorge Parodi.

Ms. Barron sang a duet from one of our favorite zarzuelas --Luisa Fernanda, and Mo. Parodi gave her a few pointers in Spanish diction. What we noticed about this lovely Singaporean-British mezzo-soprano was the expressiveness found in her face as well as her voice. We are happy to report that she continues to make excellent use of these assets and created a recital last night at the 92nd Street Y that impressed us with its directness and connection with the audience.

Buttenweiser Hall was the perfectly sized venue for a recital of this nature, and one can see from the photo above that the artist dressed in stylish informality that served to amplify the accessible nature of her performance. What made this important was that she took the audience on a journey "home" with many songs that were difficult in nature.

However, let us begin with the most accessible, Modest Mussorgsky's Nursery Songs. They were composed in two cycles between 1868 and 1872. The first cycle In the Nursery comprises five songs, of which we heard four. The second cycle At the Dacha comprises four songs, of which we heard one. Sadly the last two songs have been lost. We hope some day they will show up somewhere because these songs are touchingly effective at limning the qualities of childhood.

They also offer major opportunities for the singer to assume various roles and adopt several moods-- the insistence upon storytelling,  the enthusiasm for physical activity, the evasion of responsibility for accidents, the tenderness toward dolls, and the gravity of bedtime prayers. We always love hearing this cycle but never have we heard the songs performed with such dramatic effectiveness. Ms. Barron easily adopted the persona of the child in its various moods and also that of the nurse and mother. The expressiveness of her voice was matched by the expressiveness of her face. This, for us, was the highlight of the recital.

We also enjoyed the songs of Charles Trenet, affirming our opinion that, sung without amplification, cabaret songs are raised to the level of "art song". If Steven Blier has not yet discovered this treasure trove, he probably will in the future! In "Si vous aimiez", the composer/lyricist fancies himself unique because he experiences deeper joy and suffering than "the other" does. In "Boum!" the lyrics are full of onomatopoeticisms and reminded us of a German cabaret song in which the heart beats to a "boum"-- the title of which we cannot recall. If you, Dear Reader, know the one we are thinking of, please leave a comment below.

Although contemporary music is not our favorite, we found much to like about Huang Ruo's "Fisherman's Sonnet" which began with rippling effects in the piano and featured expressive dynamic variation.  The piano wa similarly interesting in Chen Yi's "Know You How Many Petals Falling". We love the sound of Mandarin, which is musical even when spoken. The gentle folksong "Northeast Lullaby" was particularly lovely and involved a humming passage. 

Alex Ho's post modern piece "Four miniatures for our littler selves" involved what seemed to be a prepared piano with Ms. Barron sticking her head underneath the raised lid and making odd sounds. Fortunately she prepared the audience beforehand. We found it an original curiosity of limited artistic value.

However, this reminds us to mention Ms. Barron's incredible audience rapport, enhanced by a conversational naturalism. We were less impressed by the audience who, sheeplike, followed the lead of an individual who found it necessary to applaud at inopportune times. Audiences should learn to watch the body language of the singer which generally indicates a stopping point. Otherwise, the mood is broken and the beginning of the next song is obliterated.

We would also like to applaud the excellent collaborative work of Myra Huang. How interesting that we wrote about her also about ten years ago when she accompanied Susana Phillips at a George London Foundation recital at The Morgan Library. We still recall her performance of the "Meditation" from Massenet's Thaïs, in duet with a violin. We have always admired her consummate collaborative skills. Her career has taken off as successfully as Ms. Barron's and she is now part of the Lindemann Program and is also on the Collaborative Piano faculty at Manhattan School of Music.

There were other riches on this very personal program, including a pair of songs by Brahms to texts by Klaus Groth about homesickness, which set the tone for this program about "home". One might speculate on the meaning of this subject to an artist who sings all over the world. We have often wondered if they get homesick!

© meche kroop

OH, SUSANNA!

Myra Huang, Susanna Phillips, and Alicia Lee

We have enjoyed and written about soprano Susanna Phillips for a few years, having been particularly delighted by her superb portrayal of The Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Santa Fe Opera. There have been two prior recitals as well--one 3 1/2 years ago at Weill Recital Hall and another shortly afterward at The Morgan Library, as part of the George London Foundation vocal series. Yesterday at Zankel Hall, Ms. Phillips carried the afternoon recital by herself, Eric Owens having canceled due to illness.

When all is said and done we have formed the opinion that Ms. Phillips comes across best when she has something dramatic to work with, be it opera or a dramatic song, There is nothing wrong with her recitals (except an inconsistency with the final consonants in German and the nasal vowels of French); it's just a lack of excitement that we hear in her operatic performances.

In yesterday's recital at Zankel Hall, the excitement came and went along with the vocal colors of any particular song. The heavy drama of Schubert's "Gretchen am Spinnrade" (thanks to a text by Goethe) brought out  the soprano's palette of colors as she built to an intensity of desire.

Similarly, in comedic songs, her dramatic ability was put to good advantage. The irony of "Die Männer sind méchant", from the same set by Schubert, came through loud and clear. The lengthy "Viola" tells the story of the tiny violet which blooms early at the behest of the snowdrop and is left waiting at the altar for her bridegroom Spring who has yet to arrive. The metaphor is intense and Ms. Phillips captured it well with exceptional beauty, especially the verse in which the violet realizes she is alone.

The lighthearted "Dans un bois solitaire" by Mozart was marked by lovely French phrasing, if not perfect pronunciation of the nasal vowels.

Grétry's "Certain coucou" from Le Jugement de Midas is a familiar tale to those who have heard the Mahler version. Ms. Phillips had a great time with this song, hooting like the owl, braying like the donkey, chirping like the cuckoo, and finally dazzling us with the glorious embellishments of the ignored nightingale. We have heard her perform this before and were thrilled to hear it again.

The intensely dramatic "Plaisir d'amour" by Martini also received a good variety of color and dynamics with a supremely delicate decrescendo at the end and some very sweet pianism from Myra Huang.  While we are at it, let us praise Ms. Huang's superb accompaniment.  She has the light touch that we favor but never fades into the background.

We heard a quartet of songs by Fauré noted for their delicacy and some lovely melismatic singing in "Après un rêve".

The final piece on the program was "Der Hirt auf dem Felsen", one of our favorite pieces. Clarinetist Alicia Lee joined Ms. Phillips and Ms. Huang and the plenitude of tunes bounced back and forth. The wide skips imitate yodeling and did not daunt our intrepid soprano. In the final verse, the change of mood as Spring is arriving was a perfectly joyful place to end the recital.

But there was an encore--a piece Ms. Phillips has performed before, one which puts her dramatic skills to good use. In Do You Sing, Mr. Twain? Gordon Myers set eight pithy aphorisms, although one of them "On Rules of Writing", was anything but pithy. With consummate irony, brevity is praised while the pianism and vocalism become increasingly florid with extended passages suggestive of Händel and Donizetti. The two artists had a great time, as did the audience.

(c) meche kroop

OPERA STARS IN RECITAL

Joseph Kaiser, Myra Huang, Susanna Phillips

We jump at any chance to hear major opera stars up close and personal in a recital format.  Sometimes they fall a bit short without the drama, the scenery and the costumes.  No such disappointment existed at the Morgan Library Sunday afternoon when Metropolitan Opera stars Susanna Phillips and Joseph Kaiser shared the recital stage with collaborative pianist Myra Huang and violinist Michelle Ross.  This was the last recital of the season presented by the George London Foundation for Singers.

We reviewed Ms. Phillips solo recital at Carnegie Hall last February which completely blew us away  (see "From Snow to Glow") but had never heard Mr. Kaiser in recital.  This afternoon's  program was entirely in French.  We delighted in hearing some familiar favorites, especially Ms. Phillips' performance of Mozart's "Dans un bois solitaire et sombre" and Martini's "Plaisir d'amour".  But it was her performance of "Certain coucou" by André Grétry that completely charmed us.  Those who love Mahler will recognize the tale of the voice competition in which the nightingale is overlooked by the donkey judge in favor of the owl and the cuckoo.  We couldn't help opining about the current taste in music which makes us think that many audiences are composed of...donkeys! 

Tenor Joseph Kaiser was a pleasure to hear as well, particularly in Henri Duparc's "Phydilé" in which he showed exquisite dynamic control which was matched by the super-sensitive collaborative pianist Myra Huang who always seems to breathe along with the singer.  Mr. Kaiser also introduced us to a song that was new to us but will surely become one of our favorites--"Si vous croyez que je vais dire" from André Messager's Fortunio.  We are known to be suckers for melody and what a gorgeous melody did we hear.

Still, it was two opera singers we were enjoying and must say that our favorite part of the afternoon was towards the end when we heard two selections from Gounod's  Roméo et Juliette.  Ms. Phillips' thrillingly bright soprano made "Je veux vivre" totally scintillating.  What followed was a duet with Mr. Kaiser, the scene in which the enamored couple must part since Romeo has been exiled.  It was incredibly moving and no sets or costumes were needed for us to believe the tragedy of premature separation.

Included in the program was the Meditation from Massenet's Thaïs which gave us the opportunity to hear Ms. Huang accompanying violinist Michelle Ross.  It was outstanding--sweetly seductive and passionate.

© meche kroop

FROM SNOW TO GLOW

Susanna Phillips             Myra Huang                             

It's astonishing how a gifted artist can bring you to appreciate works you never enjoyed before!  We will come to that but let's begin at the end of the completely satisfying recital given at the perfectly intimate Weill Recital Hall.  Toward the end of the encore, Peter DeRose's "Deep Purple", Ms. Phillips lost control of her emotions and could barely finish, eyes swimming with tears.  Having established incredible rapport with the audience all evening and having explained that her grandfather had sung that song for her about her grandmother, it came as no surprise that the audience went right along on her journey.  The standing ovation from the audience, fugitives from the blizzard outside, exceeded the standing ovation she received after the final set of songs.

And what a set that was!  Ms. Phillips clearly enjoyed singing the selections from Do You Sing, Mr. Twain? by the late Gordon Myers.  Eight pithy aphorisms were rather simply set with the exception of the final one, "On Rules of Writing" an ironic piece extolling brevity but marked by florid pianism and vocalism exceeding that of the baroque and bel canto periods.  Ms. Phillips and her dazzling piano partner Myra Huang had a ball with this as did the audience.

In fine French style, the pair delighted us with four Chausson songs, each a delicate gem, all sad and nostalgic.  Equally fine were "Ellens Gesang I, II and III" by Schubert, settings from Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake, the final selection being the famous "Ave Maria".  These were followed by Alban Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder, songs we have previously found rather inaccessible.  Ms. Phillips' and Ms. Huang's artistry managed to bring out melodic elements heretofore unnoticed and we were filled with delight and gratitude; we are looking forward to hearing them again.  We do wish, however, that Ms. Phillips would pay more attention to the final consonants in German.  The d's and t's were firmly enunciated but the final "en"s were sometimes lost which would drive a native German speaker a bit crazy.

Our two artists spent a great deal of time and effort on Olivier Messsiaen's  Poemes pour Mi, Book II.  They are obviously highly meaningful to the pair but were somewhat less enchanting to us, both in subject matter and musical values.  Those who read Voce di Meche regularly will recall how essential melody is to our ears.  Still, we were riveted by the sincerity of the performance and would be willing to give the songs a second hearing.  Indeed, there are many works that grow on one with successive exposures.

No such forbearance was needed for the set of songs by Enrique Granados!  We adore the sound and style of the Spanish language and the attention the composer gave to melody.  The performance was charming and during the final selection, Ms. Huang distinguished herself with some very vibrant piano playing.

Taken as a whole, the recital was finely structured--some well-known favorites, some lesser-known works by well-known composers, some challenging pieces, some accessible ones, and some we've never heard before.  We have observed Ms. Phillips' artistic growth for several year now and and have always enjoyed her performances on the opera stage.  Indeed, we are anticipating a splendid performance as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro in Santa Fe this summer.  But it was a special treat to see her on the recital stage, being her charming engaging self.

(c) meche kroop