Thomas Oliemans and Malcolm Martineau are releasing a CD of Schubert's Schwanengesang next month (I'll update with more info once it becomes available). Here they are recording and talking about Schubert in All Saints Church in London earlier this year:
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Claude Debussy's Chansons de Bilitis
Even today, many people are surprised to learn that Pierre Louÿs' "translations" of Bilitis aren't actually translations at all, but a very clever fraud foisted upon the literary establishment. Even though Claude Debussy only set three texts from the entire Louÿs/Bilitis collection, they are some of his most memorable songs, both brilliant and enigmatic. The video below features soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Gilbert Kalish.
I. La flûte de Pan
II. Le chevelure
III. Le tombeau des Naïades
Maggie Teyte's 1936 recording with Alfred Cortot is also worth a listen, if only to hear one of Debussy's favorite singers performing alongside one of the great Debussy (and Chopin!) interpreters of the early 20th century:
If you're performing Chansons de Bilitis, it's worth reading Pierre Louÿs' Songs of Bilitis in its entirety, which you can find here. A very clever case of literary fraud indeed.
I. La flûte de Pan
II. Le chevelure
III. Le tombeau des Naïades
Maggie Teyte's 1936 recording with Alfred Cortot is also worth a listen, if only to hear one of Debussy's favorite singers performing alongside one of the great Debussy (and Chopin!) interpreters of the early 20th century:
If you're performing Chansons de Bilitis, it's worth reading Pierre Louÿs' Songs of Bilitis in its entirety, which you can find here. A very clever case of literary fraud indeed.
  | Songs of Claude Debussy - Volume II (The Vocal Library). By Claude Debussy (1862-1918). Arranged by James R. Briscoe. Medium Voice. Vocal Collection. 184 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.660283) ...more info |
Saturday, October 09, 2010
L'invitation au voyage faceoff: Duparc vs. Chabrier
The year is 1870.
Construction on a bridge linking Manhattan to Brooklyn has just commenced. Rome is announced as the capital of a newly unified Italy. Louis Riel flees a failed Red River Rebellion in Saskatchewan. The Third Republic begins in France with the expulsion of Napoleon III.
Two French composers, each of whom will be lauded as a great composer of French art song, set a poem by the newly emerging symbolist poet Charles Baudelaire.
A setting by the 22-year-old "neurasthenic" Henri Duparc will be one of only a handful of songs, but one that ensures his reputation, to be performed by legions of young singers and pianists for the next 140 years. This recording features bass-baritone Jose van Dam with pianist Maciej Pikulski:
Emmanuel Chabrier, nearly 30, perhaps drew much of his inspiration from the Impressionist painters whom he spent time with, namely Claude Monet and Édouard Manet. Unlike Duparc, Chabrier chose to set the entire Baudelaire text, and added bassoon for further color. This performance features soprano Felicity Lott, bassoonist Ursula Levaux, and pianist Graham Johnson.
Which setting do you prefer? Why?
Construction on a bridge linking Manhattan to Brooklyn has just commenced. Rome is announced as the capital of a newly unified Italy. Louis Riel flees a failed Red River Rebellion in Saskatchewan. The Third Republic begins in France with the expulsion of Napoleon III.
Two French composers, each of whom will be lauded as a great composer of French art song, set a poem by the newly emerging symbolist poet Charles Baudelaire.
A setting by the 22-year-old "neurasthenic" Henri Duparc will be one of only a handful of songs, but one that ensures his reputation, to be performed by legions of young singers and pianists for the next 140 years. This recording features bass-baritone Jose van Dam with pianist Maciej Pikulski:
Emmanuel Chabrier, nearly 30, perhaps drew much of his inspiration from the Impressionist painters whom he spent time with, namely Claude Monet and Édouard Manet. Unlike Duparc, Chabrier chose to set the entire Baudelaire text, and added bassoon for further color. This performance features soprano Felicity Lott, bassoonist Ursula Levaux, and pianist Graham Johnson.
Which setting do you prefer? Why?
The Song Recital, Reimagined
One of the interesting ways forward for the song recital may involve reinventing the relationship of new to old. A recent recital by soprano Julia Fox and pianist Keith Weber in Houston featured the juxtaposition of Aaron Copland's 12 Poems of Emily Dickinson with the music on the rest of the program. From Bruce Robinson's account of the recital:
Erica Sipes sends word about a similar approach she will be using in an upcoming Love.Songs program in Whitewater, Wisconsin. A quote from Erica's Twitter feed:
The performers divided the program into six sets, three each before and after intermission. Sets 1, 3, 4 and 6 consisted of Copland’s Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson. The interior sets of each half leavened the mix with songs of Bernstein, Monteverdi, Purcell and David Evan Thomas, as well as an improvisation by Mr. Weber.Update:
At the end of each set the performers paused and sat down, perhaps sixty seconds each time. Did they need rest? No. Did the audience? Absolutely.
Erica Sipes sends word about a similar approach she will be using in an upcoming Love.Songs program in Whitewater, Wisconsin. A quote from Erica's Twitter feed:
@TheodoreSipes & I did something like that on a recent program of ours. Before each Respighi song we did, he stepped 2 side of stage, we projected the entire poem up on screen, had some sound effects in background that related 2 upcoming song after about a minute, I started the intro. It was so refreshing 4 both the audience and ourselves. A neat experience.You can read in much greater detail about Erica's recital concept at her Love.Songs blog.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Wikio's Top 20 Classical Music Blogs for October 2010
Ranking made by Wikio
(Down to 14th this month...must....blog.....harder....)
Monday, October 04, 2010
Pedal Like a Ninja
Sometimes my students have better ideas than I do.A few days ago, one of my students was pedaling accurately but heavily, with a telltale thunka-thunka-thunka every time the pedal went up or down. I told him that with pedaling, you need to hear its effects but without hearing the pedaling itself.
“You mean Ninja pedaling,” he calmly said. “You never hear them coming, but you know when they’ve been around.”
A brilliant analogy.
He tried it. It worked first time. The same correct pedaling, but this time without any extraneous sounds.
Now when any of my students pedal too loudly, I calmly tell them that they need to pedal like a ninja. The same syncopated, rhythmic, or flutter pedaling that they're used to, but silent. Furtive. Invisible.
Friday, October 01, 2010
Call for Auditions - Tapestry New Opera
As part of Tapestry's current studio season, they will be auditioning singers from October 19-21 in the Ernest Balmer Studio in Toronto's Distillery District. October 19 and 20 will be Equity days, and non-Equity singers can audition on the 21st. From the audition posting, here's the type of singer that Tapestry is looking for:
Singers interested in working with the company should have a strong interest in participating in the development and performance of new works of opera and demonstrate excellent acting skills.You'll need to bring two arias, one from 1950 or later. I'll be playing for the auditions on Tuesday the 19th and Thursday the 21st.
Applicants should ensure that they are familiar with Tapestry’s mandate prior to applying and should keep the mandate in mind when choosing audition repertoire.
To arrange your audition, send an email to audition [at] tapestrynewopera dot com. Hope to see you there!
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