Try Me, Good King: Libby Larsen Song Cycle in Recital with Judith Kellock (Soprano) and Albert Combrink (Piano)

Libby Larsen

Libby Larsen’s Song Cycle “Try Me, Good King” is a group of songs drawn from the final letters and gallows speeches of the first five wives of Henry VIII. Conceived as much as operatic “scenas” as a song cycle, these songs provide the ideal vehicle for American soprano Judith Kellock, Professor of Singing at Cornell University. Kellock and I will performing this cycle at the Baxther Theatre in Cape Town on Monday 3 August 2009, at 13H00.

 

Other works in the programme include South African composer Peter Louis van Dijk’s “Four American Songs“, Jake Heggie’s “Paper Wings”, and a selection of songs by Samuel Barber as recorded by Judith Kellock on the Koch CD label.

 

Soprano Judith Kellock

“To me, the human voice is the ultimate instrument.  It’s the most reflective, the most personal, the most infinite in its possibilities and the most difficult to write for. (Libby Larsen)” (Duffe)

American composer Libby Larsen (1950) has created a catalogue of over 400 works spanning virtually every genre from songs to 12 operas. Grammy Award winning and widely recorded – including over 50 CD’s of her music, she is one of those rare composers who work by comission only. She seems to be attracted to unusual source material. A quick glance at her list of vocal compositions  reveal settings of a fascinating range of texts, with a special interest in women writers: Belle Star (“Cowboy Songs” – 1994), Eleanor Roosevelt (“Eleanor Roosevelt – 1996), Calamity Jane (“Songs from letters” 1989) and evenancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (“I love you through the daytimes” – 2003)

Try Me, Good King

Try Me, Good King is a group of five songs (composwed in 2000) drawn from the final letters and gallows speeches of Katherine Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, and Katherine Howard. Larsen chose to focus on the intimate crises of the heart that affected Henry’s first five wives. (His last wife outlived him) In a sense, this group of songs is a monodrama of anguish and power.

“Larsen meets the challenge of musically conveying a sense of these five individual women by utilizing an array of musical devices with which she draws distinct, multileveled representations. Most prominent is Larsen’s weaving of selected Elizabethan lute songs into the musical texture of each song, thus creating a foil between the sung and unsung words, a layer that serves both as musical connective tissue as well as offering thought provoking intertextuality. Each queen is given her own song, a musical embodiment of an individual heroine speaking directly to the audience, with the role of narrator or commentator assumed by the lute songs subsumed in each piece. The entire cycle is further linked with the prominent ringing of bells in each song in addition to recurring motivic and intervallic gestures.” (Eileen Strempel)

“Larsen’s signature characteristic in solo vocal music—a great proportion of which sets writings by American women authors—is a continuous, repetitive, perpetual motion figure in the accompaniment. This ostinato is comprised of a melodic figure, a harmonic sequence, a rhythmic pattern, or combinations of these elements. This is a useful device, especially when setting poetry that speaks of events that are in continuous motion, such as the wind waving grain or grass, river water flowing slowly, and moving railroad cars. She describes her compositional style as “built around tonal areas that are vaguely modal and reinforced through pedal tones in the bass. The key to my music is to hear tones that aren’t articulated and to be able to listen to low tones” (Kelton)

“Unquiet Heart”: a recital of American Artsong that includes “Try Me Good King”.

Heggie Songs in Recital with Judith Kellock (Soprano) and Albert Combrink (Piano)

Jake Heggie

 ”Dead Man Walking”, Jake Heggie’s first opera, received international acclaim and has been performed in many opera houses internationally, including the New York City Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, and others. It will make its Cape Town debut on October 16, 22 and 24 (PG 16N) in a production by Cape Town Opera. Heggie has written over 150 songs, and American Soprano Judith Kellock and I will be performing some of these in a recital entitled “Paper Wings” at the Baxter Concert Hall, Monday 3 August at 13h00. Other works in the programme include “Four American Songs” by South African composer Peter Louis van Dijk, the song cycle “Try Me, Good King” by Libby Larsen, and a selection by Samuel Barber.

When asked why he leans toward vocal writing, Heggie says: “The voice still takes my breath away. It is the most expressive, most magical instrument ever. The inspiration comes from the voice. It brings tears to my eyes when I hear a great voice. And I love American English, too. It is a very expressive language”. (Meredith Ziegler, Journal of singing, Jan-Feb 2008)

Frederica von Stade: Heggie’s muse?

Jake Heggie composed “Paper Wings” in 1997. This set of four songs was commissioned by internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade as a gift for her daughter, Lisa. The careers of Heggie and von Stade have intertwined for over 25 years and their creative alliance is marked by a series of revelatory songs and roles. He originally conceived the role of Sister Prejean in “Dead Man Walking” for her, she created the role of the convict’s mother, and she takes the lead role in his opera “Three Decembers” based on a play by Terrence McNally. Their recent collaborations include song cycles such as “Statuesque”, ”Rise and Fall” and “Friendly Persuasions”. Von Stade has become a staunch Heggie supporter and ally, performing and championing his music wherever possible. He is quick to acknowledge his love and affection for her as a person and an artist. After the huge success of “Dead Man Walking”, Heggie composed “Winter Roses”, a poetic eight-song cycle based on letters written  by von Stade’s father, who died during World War II, just months before she was born. Incidentally, these letters also form the basis of the vocal symphony “Elegies”, by Richard Danielpour in the vein of  “Das Lied von der Erde”.

 Paper Wings (Piano Version 1997 – Orchestral Version 2000)

1. Bedtime Story

2. Paper Wings

3. Mitten Smitten

4. A Route to the Sky

A tender portrait of the relationship between von Stade and her daughter, “Paper Wings” is a setting of poetry written by von Stade herself based on episodes from her and her daughter’s own life.

1. Bedtime Story

As a child, Von Stade’s daughter Lisa would fall asleep to her mother’s lullabies, and her favourite was the “Brezairola” from Jospeh Canteloube’s “Chants d’Auvergne”, which her mother had sung and recorded many times. The song cycle opens with a quotation from the song, as if the mother is trying to put her child to sleep. Unsuccessfully, it seems, and she starts to tell her stories about their life. Easy lyricism is underlined by gently rocking chords. The harmonies are warm and there are resonances of Samuel Barber in the gentle melodiousness. The words are absolutely delightful, telling how little Lisa once snuck into the room with a blanket over her head, hoping that, as she couldn’t see the grown-ups, naturally they couldn’t see her. While the song is initially “about” a lullaby, it “is” not a lullaby. Brisk passages and sections titled “Startled” describe the parents’ initial surprised responses to the three year old intruder. “Oh, magic, magic child” writes von Stade. “You stayed, we smiled”.

2. Paper Wings

The second song is a story from von Stade’s own childhood in Greece, in which her nanny – confusingly named Signorina, makes her a set of paper wings with which to fly over the rooftops of Athens. A bubbly Allegretto, the song trots along in a jolly 6/8 time. It displays the same clear sense of form found in many of Heggie’s works. The first section in C minor, introduces the nanny and their life in Greece. In the gentler middle section, staccatos are replaced by flowing white notes, and the occasional colour-chromatic F# is all that disturbs the calm of C Major. New material in B Flat describes the joy and exuberance of the child pretending to fly above the rooftops of Athens (while the singer does the same above the stave!) A neat little coda which recalls the opening material, rounds off this little gem with the lightness implied by the title.

3. Mitten Smitten

 Lisa did not quite know what to make of this gift from India. Unaccustomed to wearing mittens, she did not know where to put her fingers. The song uses a raised 4th to create a slightly “oriental” atmosphere and emphasises the young girl’s incomprehension of these strange artefacts. A recurring motif recalls the Hugo Wolf of “Nachtzauber” and helps to draw the listener in to the child’s world. A delightful song, I can not wait to see how its theatricality translates in performance. The composer/director gives directions to the singer to act out looking at the hands, while the piano gives perplexed and unhurried commentary.

4. A Route to the Sky

The final song of the set tells of when von Stade and Lisa were stuck on the rooftop of their house and the firemen came to get them down. A reference to Beethoven’s “Für Elise” opens the song. The influence of jazz and ragtime is felt throughout this song. Syncopation and accent on the off-beats create a playful, jazzy feel. The performer also is given liberties similar to that of jazz performers: eighth notes can be swung and notated rhythms are not intended to be sung straight. Based on a blues scale, the song has an irrepressible sense of humour. Heggie flows comfortably from the voice fo the mother to that of the daughter, and often these shifts are accompanied by clear changes of key. The daughter tells – in a sentimental and rather wistful C minor- of the exciting day that she got stuck on the roof and had to be saved by firemen. The mother’s version of the same events is rather more urgent, and in A-flat minor.

Again Heggie’s theatrical sense of shape is evident. In a presto section – with sounds conjuring up the heightened drama of American Silent Movie Music – in which mother goes after daughter, to rescue her down from the roof. At one point the singer yells “Lisa! -Don’t move!” as the sung line alone can no longer convey the intensity of the moment, and a dramatic pause marked “frozen” is very effective. A rather raunchy version of “Für Elise” describes the commotion caused by the two, and a certain starry-eyed awe at having to be saved off the roof by two trucks full of firemen!

I have only come across Heggie in small bits and pieces on recital discs of American art-song, or in large chunks, such as the very powerful “Dead Man Walking”. Thrilled as I am to be able to see this opera live in Cape Town in October, I am even more excited at the prospect of performing some of his music . And to have an acclaimed performer and expert on American art-song such as Judith Kellock to sing my first exploration of his music, is simply thrilling.

Judith Kellock: Brief CV

jgk6@cornell.edu

Associate Professor, M.M., Boston University, 342 Lincoln Hall, 255-3424

Soprano Judith Kellock is an active performer in recital, chamber music and concert repertory, with a specialization in contemporary music. She is a founding member of Ensemble X, Cornell’s professional new-music ensemble and performs regularly on campus in recital, oratorio, and chamber music. She has been featured with orchestras throughout the United States, including the St. Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and the Honolulu Symphony, and has performed in Italy, Greece, France and Belgium. Recent festival performances include Stockbridge Chamber Concerts, Windham Chamber Concerts, and SongFest, where she is on the performing faculty. Ms. Kellock has recordings on the Koch International, Albany, Gasparo, and Fleur de Son labels and gives frequent master classes in conjunction with her recitals world-wide.

 Heggie’s new opera “Moby Dick”, was commissioned Dallas Opera. Here Music Director Graeme Jenkins lectures to SMU Music Students about the upcoming World Premiere of Jake Heggie’s latest opera and the struggles of commissioning a new production.

Jake Heggie and Frederica von Stade

Les donneurs de sérénades: Louise Howlett and Albert Combrink perform Fauré at Kirstenbosch

Louise Howlett and Albert Combrink

Louise Howlett and I will be performing “Moonlight Serenade” in Kirstenbosch’s Chamber Music Breakfast Concert series on Sunday 19 July 2009, 11 a.m. with Breakfast served from 9.30 a.m.

The programme features various songs inspired by the night, including two songs by Gabriel Fauré: “Après un rêve” and “Mandoline”.

“Mandoline” is a Verlaine setting in which the singer views a party from some distance; wry comments about the attendees are followed by a rhapsodic description of their elegance as they seem to dissolve in the moonlit air. Debussy set it as well, changing the musical material with the mood of the poem, but Fauré does not develop thematically—a quiet, jaunty figure in the piano conjures the title instrument, and a returning rising scale between stanzas directs our view from detail to detail. A contrasting section introduces some whirling arpeggios and delightful dotted rhythms in the voice, to illustrate the turn of the dance.  Fauré chooses just the right key: the mandolin starts to play in the bright key of G major. At the first scene change, the rising scale is suddenly in F#, all the black keys coming into play—”a sudden bit of legerdemain that perfectly captures the swoon of disorientation in the dim light, not to mention the whole affair’s hushed choreography as perceived from without”. (Description courtesy of Matthew)

Mandolin Player: Giovanni Tiepolo (1696-1770)

Les donneurs de sérénades - Poem by Symbolist poet Paul Verlaine (1844-1896), set in 1892 as “Mandoline”  by Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924):

Les donneurs de sérénades
Et les belles écouteuses
Echangent des propos fades
Sous les ramures chanteuses.

C’est Tircis et c’est Aminte,
Et c’est l’éternel Clitandre,
Et c’est Damis qui pour mainte
Cruelle [fait]¹ maint vers tendre.

Leurs courtes vestes de soie,
Leurs longues robes à queues,
Leur élégance, leur joie
Et leurs molles ombres bleues,

Tourbillonent dans l’extase
D’une lune rose et grise,
Et la mandoline jase
Parmi les frissons de brise.

Serenader - Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)

English Translation by Emily Ezust

“The givers of serenades”

The givers of serenades
And the lovely women who listen
Exchange insipid words
Under the singing branches.

There is Thyrsis and Amyntas
And there’s the eternal Clytander,
And there’s Damis who, for many a
Heartless woman, wrote many a tender verse.

Their short silk coats,
Their long dresses with trains,
Their elegance, their joy
And their soft blue shadows,

Whirl around in the ecstasy
Of a pink and grey moon,
And the mandolin prattles
Among the shivers from the breeze.

In poetry, the symbolist procedure – as typified by Verlaine – was to use subtle suggestion instead of precise statement  and to evoke moods and feelings through the magic of words and repeated sounds and the cadence of verse (musicality) and metrical innovation. (Marie Rolf). While Debussy is more redily identified as a “Symbolist” composer, this work by Fauré resonds to the “magic of words and repeated sounds” with the magic of mandolin-like repeated strumming sounds, creating a gently bouncing accompaniment for the text. Here is a recording of a Mandolin, playing a sweet little french song by Georges Villard “La Petite Tonkinoise” , made famous in this charming 1953 version by the delightful Joséphine Baker.

Below are some recordings of “Mandoline”

A very beautiful and unusial version of “Mandoline” by counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky and pianist Jerome Ducros, sung in a vocal coaching session with singing teacher Nicole Fallien.

Joyce Di Donato and Julius Drake give a stylish and elegant performance.

A surprisingly charming performance by Armenian mezzo-soprano Zara Dolukhanova, who uses her colloratura mezzo voice to tremendous effect.

This poem has been set to music by a number of composers including: Claude Debussy, Reynaldo Hahn, Gabriel Grovlez, Josef Szulc and Gabriel Dupont, amongst others.

A different setting of  “Mandoline” by composer Gabriel Dupont, sung by Philippe Jaroussky.

French Poet Paul Verlaine

More about the poet:

 

French poet and leader of the Symbolist movement in poetry. Paul Verlaine’s life style wavered between criminality and naive innocence; he married a young girl in 1870 but after a year fell in love with the young poet Arthur Rimbaud, who was seventeen. With Stéphane Mallarmé and Charles Baudelaire he formed the so-called Decadents. In Verlaine’s works two impressions predominate: that only self is important, and that the function of poetry is to preserve moments of extreme sensation and unique impressions. In spite of the ‘vagueness’ of his poetry, Verlaine showed a careful craftsmanship in his compositions, using simple, musical language. He maintained the outward form of classical poetry, but his work opened the way for free verse. The Symbolists would often share themes that parallel Schopenhauer’s aesthetics and notions of will, fatality and unconscious forces, and used themes of sex (such as prostitutes), the city, irrational phenomena (delirium, dreams, narcotics, alcohol), and sometimes a vaguely medieval or Classic setting.

I enjoy performing this song. It has a sweet, innocent charm that is hard to resist. Louise’s response to the text is very alive and tells a tiny little story, like a quick snapshot of a painting, or a world that no longer exists. It does, however, make us feel like “donneurs de sérénades”. And that is pure pleasure!

Gabriel Fauré

Schoenberg to Sondheim: Moonlight Serenade with Louise Howlett and Albert Combrink

Louise Howlett and Albert Combrink

On 19 July 2009 Louise Howlett and I will be performing in the Kirstenbosch Chamber Music Breakfast Concert Series. Our programme reflects Louise’s trademark milti-genre approach to songs inspired by Moonlight. The programme includes songs by Arnold Schoenberg, Faure, Mozart, Bizet, Dvorak, Michel Legrand, and Stephen Sondheim.

The idea of one singer encompassing styles from Mozart to Bernstein strikes some as unusual, but when one respects song for what they are, instead of evaluating them on a system of classification, one  arrives at some interesting insights. My work in the field of Tango, and the music of Piazzolla in particular, as well as recent excursions into Villa-Lobos, has taught me that the distinctions between the terms “Classical”, “Folk”, “Popular”, “World Music” and even “Jazz” are becoming increasingly blurred. Audiences are no longer judging a piece of music on whether it is a “good” classical or popular interpretaion. The demands of the media has made it possible for music-lovers to search out their own favourites. The record companies – just like the movie-moguls – can no longer predict the hits. A certain snobbery from the classical fraternity towards other music forms such as musical theathre, has also left many musicians high-and-dry. And out of work. Especially in South Africa the opera-world is fighting for survival and young musicians simply have to diversify to make a living.

I found some Youtube clips of Stephen Sondheim in masterclasses on his song “Send in the Clowns”  from “A Little Night Music” which reveals him to be as much a perfectionist as many an opera conductor. Louise and I have recorded this song and have worked hard to create an interpreation as honest and pure as a Brahms or Schubert song, but without some of the over-threatrical musical gestures that can so easily ruin this song.

Here is an interview with Sondheim discussing the song “Send in the clowns”. He comments on the emotional impact of the  shortbreathed phrases in this song of anger and regret. He stresses the need to approach performing the song from the text, from a a point of “No Singing” which arrives at the point of singing only when the emotion dictates it.

Sondheim was also a generous instructor in the performance of his material. Here he is teaching a singing student from the Guildhall School in London. And here he is teaching an acting student, also from Guildhall. His attention to expressive diction is clear. He strikes me as a wonderful man, insistent, persitent but kind.

Links to recorded clips of “Send in the Clowns”

Below I list links to some of the classic interpretations of this song – and the less successful. I hope to show that reaching an opinion of “authenticity” is a futile excercise.

“Send in the clowns” – Barbara Streissand: Streissand has owned this song for many, and she even convinced Sondheim to write her an extra verse. Her insistence truly enhanced the structure of the song, but also made it more successful as a “stand-alone” song outside of the show for which it was originally written.

“Send in the clowns” – Angela Lansbury: There is no longer a voice worth speaking of, but what a heart-felt performance.

“Send in the clowns” – Cleo Laine in which the accompaniment is focussed around sustained strings, and the arpeggiated figures are totally underplayed.

“Send in the clowns” – Elizabeth Taylor - I personally find this version unbearable, but others have commented that it is “theatrically and dramatically appropriate”. Perhaps. But not for my iPod, thanks.

Other songs from “Moonlight Serenade”

Arnold Schoenberg’s “Erwartung” op2.no.1, beautifully sung by a miss Gracova. Its atmospheric piano writing and haunting melodies conjure up the world of Sondheim’s “Night Music”. Schoenberg at one time made a living orchstrating operettas. Since  his Twelve-Tone Technique dominates writings on his work one tends to forget how important melody is to this composer, whether it uses all 12 tones of the scale or not. An interesting documentary on Schoenberg’s life in Vienna before 1900, is most informative.

The film “Yentl” yielded some excellent material, and this song by Michel Legrande is very much in the Sondheim genre.

“Papa can you hear me” - Barbara Streissand

“Papa can you hear me” in the actual scene from the movie “Yentl” – Barbra Streissand

“Papa can you hear me” in an operatic misjudgement by Ewa Lewandowska. This lady has a good voice. However, she sings this song terribly.

“Memory” from Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s “Cats” - Barbara Streissand: Again, along with Elaine Paige’s, this version sold millions of 45rpm vinyl discs long before CD’s were even invented.

“Memory” – Susan Boyle. A talented lady with a dream who deserves her shot at fame. This recording shows perhaps why she did not win.

All in all an eclectic programme then. Let the audience be the judge.

Peter Louis van Dijk’s “Four American Songs” in recital with Judith Kellock and Albert Combrink

In our upcoming concerts in Cape Town (Baxter Concert Hall, 3 August, 13h00) and Port Elizabeth on 6 August, American Soprano Judith Kellock and I will be performing a song cycle by South African composer Peter Louis van Dijk. The “Four American Songs”, set to poems by Meggan Moorhead and Sara Teasdale, is a substantial work presenting major challenges to both singer and pianist. In the composer’s list of works are many choral works, but a relatively small body of work for Voice and Piano. “Three Medieval Love Songs”, “Beyond” and “Stardrift: Four Songs” appear to be the only companions of the “Four American Songs”. Other vocal works explore instrumental ensemble or orchestral accompaniments. Van Dijk enjoys using larger performing forces. Some of his choral and orchestral works can be heard HERE. I have encountered his music as performer only in bigger settings. I was rehearsal pianist for his Aficanised realisation of Verdi’s score for Brett Bailey’s “macbEth” with Cape Town Opera – a fascinating rethink of a work. I was struck by way the music conjured up atmosphere and meaning.  I was also orchestral pianist for his “Windy City Songs” - a choral symphony set to magnificent poetry about Chicago by Carl Sandburg - and was struck by the use of core thematic material, memorable and well-constructed. Some of the themes were so haunting they stayed with the listener for a long time. Also I was intrigued by the vocal writing, which seemed to indicate a composer willing to stretch traditional approaches to the voice, without detracting from them. Definitely a work that deserves repeated hearing, some of the themes form “Windy City Songs” – in my mind at least – appear in the “Four American Songs”, either by direct quotation, or in its moving reflections on death and dying.

Peter Louis van Dijk

Here is the Composer’s own Note about the work:

Four American Songs: Péter Louis van Dijk (1953 – )

The title, Four American Songs is in no way meant to imply a Whitman- or Coplandesque-type of place-bound cycle. Instead it reflects the origins of the two poets, Sara Teasdale and Meggan Moorhead and particularly the American “feel” of many of Teasdale’s poems. American poet and psychologist, Meggan Moorhead, lives in North Carolina. In mid-2000, during a brief meeting, she gave me a hand-written copy of the two poems, There is where our breathing and Feast. Originally from a group of three poems called Requiem Exercise, I connected readily with these poems. In a letter, Ms. Moorhead explains that “…my aim is to be evocative. The context [in which these poems were conceived] was singing the Pierre de la Rue Requiem in Boston (1991) under the direction of Sarah Cunningham … I loved the sound and the process but my question to myself was – in what words would we – in this day and time – with what words would we sing a requiem… make sacred the transition – what words would we use? And that is where I started from during the week between rehearsal and performance…” The poems are used by kind permission of the author. Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where she attended a school that was founded by the grandfather of another great poet from St. Louis, T. S. Eliot. She later associated herself more with New York City. Teasdale – regarded as an important lyric poet, committed suicide in 1933. The poems, There will come soft rains and There is no place (original title, Bells) are used by kind permission of the University of Michigan.

Postscript: These songs were composed for my first wife, Susi van Dijk’s final Masters recital at the University of Cape Town; sadly she died before she was able to perform them and they were premiered by Hannah van Niekerk (soprano)  and Albie van Schalkwyk  (piano) at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein in 2003

…with what words would we sing a requiem… make sacred the transition…

Meggan Moorhead

Those words of Moorhead seem to sum up the cycle for me. Dr. Meggan Moorhead is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Much of her work as psychologist has been in the area of suicide, and in particular, providing support for people who have experienced the loss of a loved one by suicide. Her accomplishments as a therapist speak for themselves, but unfortunately I could not find out much more about her poetry.

Sara Teasdale

Sarah Teasdale, born in 1884, seems at first to be far removed from the modern pre-occupations of Moorhead. But I find it significant that Teasdale was frail and sickly all her life. Sheltered, homeschooled and over-protected, her marriage failed and she had difficulty maintaining relationships with friends. Pneumonia weakened her body and mind, and she lost the sense of the beauty of things that had inspired her early poetry. She committed suicide at 48. Her poetry reflects thoughts on the frailty of human existence and she herself writes: “Life is a frail moth flying Caught in the web of the years that pass.”

Her complete poems are available HERE and make powerful reading. 

Brief discussions of the songs themselves:

The first song “There is where our breathing comes from” (Moorhead) opens with widely spaced chords that remind me of the “Windy City Songs”. The texture is thin and tension is created through obsessively repeated “heart-beat” patterns, creating, to my mind, an observer’s experience of a hospital death-bed. The transparent writing reminds at times of Schoenberg, with thematic material and figures superseding harmony.

The second song “There will come soft rains” (Teasdale) is comparatively light-hearted, musing that awareness of life and living is a particularly human preoccupation. Nature herself is “Life” that continues, and will do so even after human beings disappear physically or metaphorically from the planet. The opening figuration is so beautiful, and it’s irregular meter so catchy and memorable, that I hope this song will be performed often. The two hands have very different articulation and musical “tasks”, combining various textures – as in a proto-orchestration – giving insight perhaps into van Dijk’s compositional thinking. As I am learning the song, different sections suggest different instrumentation: Twittering woodwinds represent the soft raindrops or nature-sounds while drums and tom-toms dance defiantly at the mention of war and man’s disappearance from the planet. A final chord – “brutale”-  shuts the door decisively on mankind. A more detailed analysis of the poem can be found HERE

The third song “There is no place” (Teasdale) strongly recalls the “Windy City Songs”. Widely spaced chords with meditative repetitions usher in a reflection on the inevitability of the passing of life. Richard Strauss’ Marchallin went through the house at night stopping the clocks in attempt to halt the passing of time, or at the very least, to avoid being reminded of the ticking. Yet the subject of the poem can find nowhere in this crowded life where there are not bells that remind of the coming of the end. While the middle section of the song seems to be more defiant, using more deliberately “pianistic” figuration than in the outer sections to suggest the elation of bells, the return to sparse textures at the end reflect resignation and sadness.

The fourth and largest song “Feast” (Moorhead) makes extreme technical demands on both performers. Rhythmic complexity and virtuosic writing create a delirious affirmation of life. In figurations marked “fantastico” I hear snippets of Shostakovich dancing in the wings – perhaps the “Fantastic Dances”? Richard Strauss’ “Till Eulenspiegel” occasionally makes an appearance as well. I do not yet make the connections in this poem between the literal images such as dragonflies in the garden, one’s morning cup of coffee, and the concept of Moorhead’s “Requiem Exercise”. The last rush of arpeggios certainly reflects an ecstatic abandonment, perhaps to death? Is the feast possibly an afterlife vision? Perhaps my awareness of Moorhead’s work in the field of death and dying, and my acquaintance with, and affection for Susi van Dijk, who died before she could perform these songs which were written for her, might be contributing to an over-interpretation.

I have found myself profoundly affected by the poems and the strength of the music. Learning the piano parts has been a big task, but I hope to encourage other singers to tackle this work. Juduth Kellock has an impressive discography of contemporary music. I am sure her performance will take the fear out of the “contemporary art-song recital”.

I have grown very deeply attached to these songs, and I hope they will be taken up and performed by more singers.

Albert Combrink, Judith Kellock and Peter Louis van Dijk

Villa-Lobos Songs: Filipa Van Eck and Albert Combrink in concert

Soprano Filipa Van Eck

On Friday 17 July 2009 Filipa Van Eck and myself will be performing a concert in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the death of Heitor Villa-Lobos, and also in celebration of the 13th anniversary of the CPLP, or Comunidade dos Paises de Lingua Portuguesa (Community of Portuguese speaking Countries),  a type of Portuguese commonwealth that includes all Portuguese speaking countries such as Angola, Mozambique, East Timor, Brazil etc. The concert will be held at the University in Maputo. The concert will also feature solo piano works by Villa-Lobos.

” O vosso canto vem do fundo do Sertao, como uma brisa amolecendo o coracao” – “Your songs come from the depths of the forest, like a breeze softening  my heart.” These words by Brazilian poet Manuel Bandeira - speaking of a beloved  to a bird in the forest – could apply to Villa-Lobos. His vocal music has not been adequately explored in recital or on recordings,. Sheet Music is not readily available. Therefore putting together a selection of songs is not an easy task. But there is much of value and beauty to explore.

 We will, of course, be performing the composer’s signature-work for voice, the Bachianas Brasileiras #5.   Filipa will be singing the complete work, the Canitlena as well as the 2nd movement – added in 1945 – Dansa (Martelo) to the text by Manuel Bandeira.

“Melodia Sentimental” was an obvious choice, but we could not find the Sheet Music in time. I include recorded materials of it here simply because I think it is a wonderful piece that I will perform as soon as get a copy of the music. This work has become so popular that some find it difficult to decide if it is a Folk Song that became classical or if it’s a classical song that has become so popular as to have entered the folk tradition. As is typical with the music of this composer, the music can sustain a variety of different performance styles. It has been arranged for classical ensembles, and performed by popular and classical singers alike. I personally adore this clip of Maria Bethania listening to and singing along to her own recording of  “Melodia Sentimental” .

Narrowing the gap between classical and popular

In a recent issue of the Rio de Janeiro Musician’s Union (SindMusi) newsletter, Musical, the pianist, arranger and composer Cláudio Dauelsberg was interviewed about the release of two new CD’s in two very different styles, Ventos do Norte (North Winds – MPB) and Bach, recorded with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra.

He says, “More and more we are seeing the barrier breaking down between popular and classical… Each (of these) areas has a lot to offer to the other and it’s really cool for us to allow that encounter. But it’s a challenge to dive in with intensity and profundity in the two areas.”

Brazilian music is founded upon the syncretism of European, African and Indigenous Amerindian musical traditions which all contribute to its uniqueness. In The Brazilian Sound, Chris McGowan and Ricardo Pessanha provide some additional insights (1998):

 ”Most Brazilian music shares three outstanding qualities. It has an intense lyricism tied to its Portuguese heritage that often makes for beautiful, highly expressive melodies, enhanced by the fact that Portuguese is one of the most musical tongues on earth and no small gift to the ballad singer. Second, a high level of poetry is present in the lyrics of much Brazilian popular music. And last, vibrant Afro-Brazilian rhythms energize most Brazilian songs, from samba to baião.”

These elements are to be fund in abundance in the songs Filipa Van Eck will be performing in Mozambique:

Cancao do Poeta do Seculo XVIII (Song of a poet of the 18th Century)

Cancao do Poeta do Seculo XVIII (sung here in a clip by Teresa Berganza with Juan Antonio Alvarez Parejo on piano in 1984) is a beautiful song that walks the trapeze between art-song and popular ballad – like so many of this composer’s works. A gentle candombe rhythm introduces a yearning melody that seems to reflect the text by Alfredo Ferreira perfectly. The poet dreams of walking in the moonlight with his beloved. The moon is a symbol of love and hope, but alas, it is also out of reach.

Evocação (Evocation)

“Evocação” – the 7th song in the series “Modinhas e Canções” – is filled with deep feeling and longing. It is a powerful song in which the poet is delirious with love. “I live to cry my love for you”, the poet says, and is enfolded in a starlit dream of ecstasy. Here is a version sung by tenor Daniel Inamorato. This is a very serious and “classical” interpretation, which I enjoy, but I do think some more expressive freedom would add to the passion of the song. The lilting 6/8 opening is almost Neapolitan in it’s simplicity, but the modulation to the minor in the slow section is most affecting, with the climax of the song reaching almost suicidal passion.

Nesta Rua (This Street)

This appears to be a Villa-Lobos arrangement of a traditional melody arranged by Villa-Lobos, in fact, more than once. It appears as the 11th piece in the piano cycle Cirandinhas (1925) and again in the Cirandas of 1926.  The piano arrangements are powerful virtuoso works, but their dramatic style appears not to fit the lyrics of the poem. The quasi-Indian percussive piano effects open the piano arrangements are totally absent in the vocal arrangement. Kiki Hamman traces the roots of this song to a Brazilian “cantiga” or lullaby. If Villa-Lobos can not stake claim to the haunting melody, he certainly gets the credit for a magnificent arrangement. Subtle polyrhythms and swaying triplets make performing this work an absolute pleasure. Again, it is a work that has popular undertones, and unfortunately gets less than satisfactory performances such as this version with Sandy Leah in which more than just the intonation is suspect.

 Lundú Da Marqueza De Santos

The 2nd song form the group “Modinhas e Canções” (to a text by Triato Correa), reveals Villa-Lobos’ popular folk-inflected side. However it is a bit perplexing as a musical response to the text. The song is written in an up-beat Allegretto Tango rhythm, but the text by Triato Correa is a sad an desperate cry for a departed lover. “Everything in me is black and sad, Oh! this tremendous, tremendous punishment.” But the song is not black nor sad! This version with tenor Polane Brandão reveals the technical difficulty of the song, as well as one of a fundamental weakness in much of Villa-Lobos’ vocal writing: the piano doubles the voice melody throughout. This creates a problem with the balance as well as highlighting any intonation difficulties that there might be. In addition it limits the singer’s rhythmic freedom, which I consider vital to creating a folk-inspired quasi-Neapolitan song. Orchestrated versions do exist, but I am not sure if these are by Villa-Lobos. Bidu Sayao recorded two versions, and her lyricim is immediately apparent. Her clear voice and easy high notes still make her an ideal interpreter from a stylistic point of view:

“Lundú Da Marqueza De Santos” sung by Bidu Sayao (1)

“Lundú Da Marqueza De Santos” sung by Bidu Sayao (2)

Some recordings of Villa-Lobos’ vocal music and other useful links:

“Canção do Amor” and “Melodia Sentimental” from Villa-Lobos’ symphonic poem “Floresta do Amazonas” sung by Bidu Sayo in 1959. Villa-Lobos convinced Sayao to come out of retirement to record this work, composed with her voice in mind. The lyrics are given as well.

Cathy Berberian sings Xango The text has no particular meaning and is an anomatopaeic description of Amerindian drumming – “Xangô! Ôlê gondilê ôlálá… Gon gon gon gondilá! Xangô! Ôlé gondilé ôlêlê Gon gon gon gondilê!”

Traditional recreation of Xango: Xango, god of fire and thunder from the Afro Brazilian tradition of Candomble´. From the CD, “Sacred Songs and Chants of Candomble”

“Floresta” sung by Bidu Sayao

The “Birdsong” from “Amazon” sung by Bidu Sayao

Brazilian Popular Music: A Bird of a Thousand Voices

Texts and translations of a selection of Villa-Lobos’ vocal works

 A CD of Latin American Songs with Marina Tafur (Soprano) and Nigel Foster (Piano)

“Canción del marinero” sung by Alfredo Kraus

Balduína de Oliveira (Bidu) Sayão’s obituary and career summary 

An appreciation of Bidu Sayao’s career

Filipa Van Eck’s Biography

Filipa van Eck (23) has completed her Bmus Western Classical Performance at UCT and has been training her voice with Sarita Stern since 2004. Filipa has won various prizes for singing at school, and completed her UNISA exams with distinctions. At UCT she has managed to be placed on the Dean’s Merit list for every year of study, and was the Class Medalist for 2004.

Filipa has sung in various chamber music concerts, her repertoire includes The Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, L’amero by Mozart and Der Hirt auf dem Felsen by Schubert; and was invited to perform as a soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Sotonga String Quartet in Napier; and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater for Barry Smith and the Rupert Foundation for Music in March 2008.

Filipa has also performed around Cape Town for The Nine Club, Friends of Cape Town Opera, The Fishoek Music Society; and in Pretoria at the Portuguese Embassy in commemoration of the end of the Portuguese presidency of the European Union. She was chosen to perform a solo recital for Portuguese national day held at the Centre of the Book in 2007, and performed in Johannesburg with the Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Richard Cock in a concert organized by the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.

Filipa was nominated as a finalist in the 2007 and 2008 SCHOCK Foundation for Singing Competition, and the 2008 SCHOCK Chamber Music Competition held at the Baxter concert hall.

She will be performing in a concert version of Dido and Aeneas for Barry Smith in May, appearing as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier in June, and in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen with the UCT Opera School and Cape Town Opera.

She is currently completing her Masters in Music Performance at UCT.

Villa-Lobos: Ciclo Brasileiro for Piano

Heitor Villa-Lobos

Ciclo Brasilero is one of Villa-Lobos’ most important contributions to the piano literature. It therefore was a natural choice for inclusion a concert honouring the 50th Anniversary of the death of Heitor Villa-Lobos which dazzling soprano Filipa von Eck and I will be giving in Maputho (Mozambique) on 17 July 2009.

One often reads about the Brazilian rhyhms, Indian folk melodies and other “exotic” elements in his music. It would however be to underestimate the composer to view him as a quaint colourist. His works reflect depth of study and an immersion in contemporary compositional techniques. That said, it has been of immense value for me as a performer, to encounter the actual music that inspired the composer. Some of the traditional dances have given me insight into the sound-world which I had only glimpsed before. This experience was similar to the discovery of the music of Hungarian folk musicians, which transformed the way I performed the music of Bela Bartok. My experience of performing other Latin-American music, such as that of Piazzolla and Gardel, have also given me a certain rhythmic freedom I might not have had in the past. While the piano music is strictly notated, an air of improvisation can be felt in his works, and I think the element of movement, of the dance, is central to much of his music.

Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) wrote a vast amount of music, across a very broad range of genres. A list of his works reveals an enormous body of piano music. His complete piano music easily covers 7 or 8 CD’s – much more than music by other “piano-specialists” such as, for example, Godowsky, Scriabin or Medtner. Given such a large output, it is inevitable that some works will be weaker than others, but I believe that it is only with regular performance of the entire oeuvre that the strongest works will emerge.

Some works are already well-known. Three collections of short pieces called  ”Prole do Bebê”  (1916, 1918 and 1921) – each devoted to a different aspect of a child’s imagination – have established themselves in recital programmes and as prescribed literature for examinations and competitions. There are the Choros 1, 2 and 5, and the 4th Bachianas Brasileiras, some original and some piano arrangements of orchestral works. Piano transcriptions of some of his popular Guitar works such as the preludes exist, but I have not seen the sheet music available.

Some works are so difficult as to put them out of reach of most pianists, and are consequently not as well-known as they deserve to be. One of these is the massive Rudepoema (1921-1926) - a vast 23 minute summation of the composer’s pianistic style. The work’s name derives form a pun by the composer on the name of Arthur Rubinstein – nicknamed “Rudi” and the Portuguese adjective for “Rude”, “Savage” or “Rough”. One can readily hear, in the composer’s words, the “exuberance of storms in the virgin forests of Brazil”. A few recordings exist, but to my mind, Marc-Andre Hamelin’s version is the greatest. I was lucky enough to find Youtube clips where you can follow the score while you listen to his performance. The excellence of this interpretation has however cured me of all desire to even attempt this piece.

Hamelin's CD of Villa-Lobos

Hamelin’s version of “Rudepoema” – Part 1

 Hamelin’s version of “Rudepoema” – Part 2

However, there is plenty of music left in his output that I would tackle. In Mozambique I will also be playing Villa-Lobos’ “Capricho Op.49″, in what appears to be a transcription by the composer of a work originally for Piano and Cello. The only recording of it I could track down was by cellist Rebecca Rust. A charming salon-work, it is not particularly “Brazilian” in style, but in fact has the feel of a Parisian waltz.

Ciclo Brasileiro is very popular as well. It’s unmistakeable Brazilian Folk-flavour is much deeper than mere exoticism. They are fun to play and repay the hard-work as audiences respond to their brilliance and virtuosity as well as the fresh colours and harmonies. It is awash in the romanticism apparent in his works of the 1930’s.

The “Brazilian Cycle” is made up of four movements:

1. Plantio do caboclo (The Peasant’s sowing)
2. Impressoes seresteiras (The Impressions of a serenade musician)
3. Festa no sertao (The Fete in the Desert)
4. Danca do Indio Branco (Dance of the White Indian)

1. Plantio do caboclo (The Peasant’s sowing)

Played here by Paulo Brasil the hymn-like melody is truly hypnotic. The ostinato pattern in the right hand is typical of much of the composer’s writing, but I personally would have preferred a more tender quai-impressionistic approach in the modulatory middle section. The closing is magically handled.

2. Impressoes seresteiras (The Impressions of a serenade musician)

This beautiful waltz is played magnificently by Clelia Iruzun, one of my favourite Villa-Lobos interpreters. It combines a large romantic pianistic idiom with a sense of improvisation. I have simply fallen in love with this piece and it needs to be heard more often in concerts.

3. Festa no sertao (The Fete in the Forrest)

This virtuosic and entertaining showpiece conjures up festive hustle and bustle in a Toccata style that reminds perhaps of Ginastera. Sonia Rubinsky recorded the complete works of Villa-Lobos, and her version of this piece is impressive. Despite the percussive effects of the alternating chords, the work needs a balance with more lush textures. I feel that Alfred Heller’s version, for all its strengths, is too dry for my liking. Clelia Iruzun’s performance is very engaging and exciting, and she manages the return to the opening material though careful use of the third pedal and a big ritardando that is not in the score, however it totally convinces me. Her playing in the 5/4 middle section is impassioned, revealing great depths of emotion and drama. Great playing.

CD notes in the Rubinsky Complete Edition (Vol.3) states that this piece is based on the Brazilian traditional dance, the “Batuque”. From a version of a Batuque that I could find that convinces as authentic, it appears that the rhythm Villa-Lobos uses is an accurate transcription. The ritual element is enhanced by repeated cycles and melody is secondary to the importance of the alternating percussive patterns. Another version of a Batuque focuses attention on the percussionists. The vocal interpolations from the drummers themselves have given my fresh inspiration for interpretting this piece as more than just something flashy to impress the audience.

4. Danca do Indio Branco (Dance of the White Indian)

Described by Villa-Lobos as his “musical portrait” – a reference to himself as a “White Indian” - this piece seems to be more deliberately “exotic” than the others in the series. Some have commented that the “white” in the title refers to the white notes of the piano that seem to dominate in the writing, or that Villa-Lobos “encountered an Indian in the Brazilian forest who constantly danced and died”, that inspired the piece. Obviously designed as a showpiece, the most significant technical difficulty other than the alternating hand movements is to bring out the melody within the large chords. Sonia Rubinsky gives an impressive performance, but perhaps this work is meant to impress rather than move the listener. Gustavo Romero gives a characteristically flashy performance that is impressive for its attention to details such as dynamic variations although it is difficult to define a concept of traditional phrasing in this work.

A big difficulty is finding scores of Latin American composers in South Africa. Here’s hoping that libraries will make use of this 50 year anniversary to stock up.

A sizeable collection of Villa-Lobos piano music is available at Sheetmusicplus.com: 166 pages. Published by Amsco Publications (MS.AM41732).ISBN 0825640628

It contains the following works:

Alma Brasileira – Choros No. 5
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 – 1. Preludio
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 – 2. Coral
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 – 3. Aria
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 – 4. Dansa
Caixinha De Musica Quebrada
Carnaval Das Criancas Brasileiras – 1. A Manha Da Pierrette
Carnaval Das Criancas Brasileiras – 2. O Chicote Do Diabinho
Ciclo Brasileiro – 1. Plantio Do Caboclo
Ciclo Brasileiro – 2. Impressoes Seresteiras
Ciclo Brasileiro – 3. Festa No Sertao
Ciclo Brasileiro – 4. Dansa Do Indio Branco
Guia Pratico – Album 1 – 1. Acordei De Madrugada
Guia Pratico – Album 1 – 2. A Mare Encheu
Guia Pratico – Album 1 – 3. A Roseira
Guia Pratico – Album 1 – 4. Manquinha
Guia Pratico – Album 1 – 5. Na Corda Da Viola
Guia Pratico – Album 8 – 1. O Limao
Guia Pratico – Album 8 – 2. Carambola
Guia Pratico – Album 8 – 3. Pobre Cega
Guia Pratico – Album 8 – 4. Pai Francisco
Guia Pratico – Album 8 – 5. Xo Passarinho!
Guia Pratico – Album 8 – 6. Sinh’ Aninha
Guia Pratico – Album 8 – 7. Vestidinho Branco
Guia Pratico – Album 9 – 1. Laranjeira Pequenina
Guia Pratico – Album 9 – 2. Pombinha, Rolinha
Guia Pratico – Album 9 – 3. O Cir
Guia Pratico – Album 9 – 4. A Velha Que Tinha Nove Filhas
Guia Pratico – Album 9 – 5. Contante
Guia Pratico – Album 9 – 6. O Castelo
Poema Singleo
Prole Do Bebe No. 1 – 1. Moreninha
Prole Do Bebe No. 1 – 2. Mulatinha
Prole Do Bebe No. 1 – 3. O Polichinelo
Simples Coletanea – 1. Valsa Mistica
Simples Coletanea – 2. Em Um Berco Encantado
Simples Coletanea – 3. Rhodante
Suite Floral – Op. 97 – 1. Idilio Na Rede
Suite Floral – Op. 97 – 2. Uma Camponeza Cantadeira
Suite Floral – Op. 97 – 3. Alegria Na Horta

An interesting site by Leonor Lains, with biographical details, phots and quotes can be found HERE.

Samuel Barber Songs: In Recital With Judith Kellock (Soprano) and Albert Combrink

American Composer Samuel Barber

I am preparing a group of recitals of American Art-songs with American soprano Judith Kellock, which will include a selection of songs by Samuel Barber (1910-1982). The challenge for the pianist is, of course, the difficult piano writing. As Judith Kellock and I have not yet rehearsed our recital programme, I can not comment on the symbiosis between singer and accompanist in these songs. But it is a recital for which I can’t wait. Judith Kellock’s recording of Barber Songs has been highly acclaimed and I am looking forward to performing these songs with her in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in August 2009.

Barber is known for the famous “Adagio for Strings”, in its original form for String quartet, arranged by Barber for String Orchestra or re-shaped as a choral “Agnus Dei”. This work sums up many aspects of Barber’s compositional style: the quintessential “American Elegy”, going directly to the heart of the matter, a powerful and soaring melody and a lush texture with which to support its emotional charge. These elements are found in most of Barber’s works, including his impressive body of vocal works.  Barber’s songs have become synoymous with the American Art song, attaining the status of American classics. He wrote songs throughout his life, starting in his teens. At 14, he was enrolled into the newly formed Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and a year later, his first known song, “A Slumber song to the Madonna” appeared. At 17 “The Daisies” became his first published song. His last song for solo voice and piano, “O Boundless, Boundless Evening” was written in 1972.

He wrote less prolifically in his last twenty years, but he was busy with vocal music throughout his career. Over 50 songs appear between other vocal works.

His affinity for the voice is clear. Consider operas “Vanessa” and “Anthony and Cleopatra”, along with many other vocal works  many scenas, cantatas and works such as “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” (set to a text by James Agee). He also maintained close relationships with singers thoughout his life. His aunt, the opera singer Louise Homer, gave many of the first performances of his songs. Pierre Bernac and Francis Poulenc were friends and supporters as well as performers of his works. And at a time when large parts of the American music world was still segregated, he supported careers of young black singers such as Leontyne Price and Martina Arroyo.

Barber’s music has been described as “Neo-Romantic”. He uses a contemporary harmonic and rhythmic language, but there is always a warm melodic content. His music is perhaps less “American” than, say, Copland, but then it is also less forbidding. There is always a deep passion in his writing. His seriousness as a person was overlaid with a witty mien, which his good friend and publisher Paul Wittke describes as “a defence against a deep-rooted melancholia.”  Pianist John Browning – a great interpreter of Barber – writes most beautifully: “Barber’s language is that of the poet – swift changes of mood and a pervading melancholy and loneliness conveyed on a sumptuous harmonic tapestry. There is a passionate sensuality which never lapses into cheap sentimentality or vulgarity” (Barber: The Songs, DGG CD Booklet, p10)

“Barberisms” include: • Rich orchestration and harmonies reminiscent of late romantic composers such as Rachmaninov or Strauss. • A solid grasp of polyphony. • Easy chromaticism that remains within a tonal framework. • A lush lyrical gift.

All his works contain memorable melodies. These elements fuse in his vocal works. Barber himself had many skills to contribute as an art-song composer. He was an excellent singer himself, having studied singing with Emilio de Gogorza and later in Vienna. He even flirted with a professional singing career, performing and recording as a singer, including the first recording in 1935 of “Dover Beach” for Baritone and String Quartet, a sophisticated work composed when Barber was just 21– and a beautiful performance it is. An excellent pianist, Barber studied with Russian pedagogue Isabelle Vengerova. Barber’s writing for the instrument is some of the most complex and virtuosic of the 20th Century. His Piano Concerto (premiered 1962) remains an Everest of piano technique and the Piano Sonata is considered one of the most challenging ever written. The Sonata was first performed by one of the great virtuosos Vladimir Horowitz. Here you can follow the score as you listen to the recording. The Fugue is famous for it’s demands. His songs make few concessions. Richly contrapuntal writing and filigree passages make his accompaniments a challenge and a feast for pianists.

Comfortable in various languages, Barber’s song-texts are of the highest quality. He read poetry in its original language (he was fluent in Italian, German and French) and almost never went anywhere without a volume of poetry within reach. Yet he claims to have had difficulty chosing poems, finding some to wordy or too introverted, and he always appeared to be reading poetry with an eye to it’s potential as compositional material.

Some thoughts on songs in the recital:

A Nun takes the Veil – Op.13, No.1 (Gerald Manley Hopkins) 1937

Schubertian in its purity, this song conjures up a young woman’s vision of the sanctity of a monastery. Harp-like broken chords alternate with hymnal solemnity to create a vision of spiritual ecstasy. Judith Kellock’s interpretation captures a wonderful intimate atmosphere .

The Secrets of the Old – Op.13, No.2 (W.B. Yeats) 1938

A Celtic folk-tale is conjured up in a quirky rhythm in odd-metres. It is a lovely combination of old-fashioned story-telling, the irony of which is made more poignant by the trademark harmonic bite. The bittersweet melody and contrapuntal textures reflect the new direction Barber’s music was taking after he spent two years living and travelling in Europe.

Sure on this shining night – Op.13, No.1 (James Agee) 1938

One of the greatest songs of the 20th Century, this song reminds of Robert Schumann in that the melody is echoed in a piano melody and supported by repeated chords. It has been recorded often, arranged as a choral work, and orchestrated by Barber. I enjoyed hearing Julia Metzler’s performance And of course Cheryl Studer in the now famous DGG recording of the complete songs.

Nocturne – Op.13, No.4 (Frederic Prokosch) 1940

This is another song with rich and luminous textures which lent itself to orchestration. Conjuring up the magic of night, the melody encompasses broad leaps, and some surprisingly angular intervals that become achingly tender when supported on waves of rich harmony. Despite many chromatic excursions, tonality is never abandoned and the piano filigree ripples through the water-imagery with Debussian delicacy. This song is hauntingly beautiful,  and exemplary of Barberian melancholy.

The Queen’s face on the summery coin Op.18, No.1 (Robert Horan) 1942

A much more complex Barber is encountered here. Written in the year of his “Second Essay for Orchestra” which the composer said himself reflected “that it was written in wartime”, the work uses canon and modal elements to create a work which does sit as uneasily on the heart as it does on the ear, stuck between a minor and diminished chord resolution.

Monks and Raisins Op.18, No.2 (Jose Garcia Villa) 1943

The quirky 7/8 rhythm is a perfect vehicle for this comic tale of pink monks eating blue raisins and blue monks eating pink raisins. By the time the storyteller eats both colours together one’s head is spinning with “the blue and the pink counterpointing”!

Nuvoletta Op. 25 (James Joyce) 1947

Joyce’s method of stream of consciousness, literary allusions and free dream associations was pushed to the limit in some of his works such as “Finnegan’s Wake”. Barber seems to follow the text in the same manner of free association and with a tongue-in-cheek- flutter of Nuvoletta’s light dress, the music disappears, and one is left trying to make sense of the recollections. Barber claimed in a radio interview that he included a few ironic quotes from Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde”. I am still learning this piece, and therefore I am still on the look-out for said quotation!

The recitals with Judith Kellock will include “Try me Good King”, a cycle by Libby Larsen, as well as “Four American Songs” by South African composer Peter Louis van Dijk.

 

Judith Kellock's CD of Barber Songs

The Operas of Samuel Barber: Some recorded materials of “Vanessa” and “Antony and Cleopatra”

 

Samuel Barber was a fine Baritone, nephew of a famous contralto Louise Homer and long-term partner of opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti. By all accounts he was an avid opera-goer and –lover. Therefore it seems odd that, his first opera, “Vanessa” was written when he was 48. It seems he took his preparations very seriously indeed. Commissioned by the Metropolitan in New York, its first performance was so successful it commissioned a second opera “Antony and Cleopatra”. After it’s first triumphant season at the Met, “Vanessa” was however unable to secure a regular foothold in the repertoire of the Met or elsewhere. “Antony and Cleopatra” suffered the same fate, despite a sumptuous first production by Franco Zefirelli. Barber and Rudolf Bing conceived the role of Vanessa for Maria Callas, and negotiations advanced well, but it is one of those historic might-have-beens that this never materialised.

 

Barber revised “Vanessa” in an attempt to make it more “user-friendly” and removed colloratura passages such as the “Skating Aria”, settling the “fach” of the leading lady as a lirico spinto.

 Video Clips of Vanessa

 San Diego Opera Talk with Nick Reveles: Vanessa - Inspired by a novel by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen: “Out of Africa”), Samuel Barber’s Vanessa was snubbed by “modern” composers. But its love story and lush, romantic music made it an instant hit with audiences and won Barber the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Nicolas Reveles hosts an intimate portrait of the opera and its creator. Series: “San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles” [11/2004] [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 8669]

 ”Do not utter a word” – Eleanor Steber  - The creator of the role of Vanessa learnt the opera in 6 weeks after Sena Jurinac pulled out of the first production. She included the original colloratura aria which was later cut. She sang the role in the first recording of the opera, oposite Swedish tneor Nicolai Gedda. Steber also commissioned “Knoxville: Summer of 1915″ from Barber, and recorded it twice, both in its version for orchestra and piano. Here you can hear a live version with piano from Carnegie Hall.  The accompanist is her longtime accompanist Edwin Bittcliffe:  Knoxville: Summer of 1915″ Part 1, Part 2

“Do not utter a word” – Leontyne Price - One of the great interpretations

 ACT 1 excerpt: Kiri te Kanawa (Monte-Carlo) – Perhaps a surprising choice of casting, yet Kiri reveals the lyric side of the writing.

 ACT 2 excerpt: Kiri te Kanawa (Monte Carlo) 

ACT 3 Excerpt: Kiri Te Kanawa (Monte Carlo)

ACT 4 Exceprt: Kiri te Kanawa (Monte Carlo) 

“Must the winter come so soon” Erika’s first aria here sung by Mary Gayle Greene, who was a Met Audition winner, now teaching in North Carolina. Sung with Piano Accompaniment

  Lauren Flanigan: New York City Opera – an assumption of the role that surely needs to be recorded on CD

 Video Clips of Antony and Cleopatra

Barber’s attempts at extending the shelf-life of this opera included making a chamber-reduction of the score, as well as a translation into Italian.

 “Give me my robe” Leontyne Price

 “Give me my robe” Catherine Malfitano

 “Give me some music”: Catherine Malfitano

“Death of Enobarbus”: Eric Halfvarson

 “I am sick and sullen” Catherine Malfitano and R.Cowan Chicago 1991

 “O take those lips away: Catherine Malfitano and R.Cowan Chicago 1991

Barber also wrote a One-Act Opera “A hand of Bridge”

I hope to see more recordings and live performances of these powerful works.