This year’s mentors for Toronto Summer Music’s Art of Song programme are mezzo Sasha Cooke and pianist Warren Jones. On Monday evening they teamed up to give an American themed recital in Walter Hall.

Sasha’s rich, powerful mezzo was apparent from the outset with a heartfelt rendering of Copland’s “At the River”. Accompaniment was also top notch and all through the recital Warren would show himself as one of those pianists who is as much fun to watch as listen to.

Some of the highlights for me included Jake Heggie’s “In the Beginning” from Gods and Cats. The words are a sort of parody of the opening of Genesis but, obv, about cat. The music matches in a weird, chromatic way. Great fun. H. Leslie Adams’ setting of Langston Hughes’ “Prayer” was also interesting. It’s a lyrical seeting of a simple but surprisingly deep text. An idiomatic performance of selections from Granados’ 12 Tonadillas en estilo antiguo closed out the first half.

The highlight of the second half for me was the pairing of Lenny Bernstein’s “Simple Song” from his Mass with Michael Tilson-Thomas’ rather affecting “Grace” composed for Bernstein’s 70th. They are both quite quirky pieces with the first mixing quotes from Psalms with a sort of refrain; “lauda, lauda, laude”, all set quite simply while the Tilson-Thomas piece is a sort of ode to music and herrings. It’s the kind of music that could only be American and it got a heartfelt, idiomatic performance.

There was quite a lot I haven’t mentioned from Alma Mahler and Korngold to Sondheim and Gershwin with Barber and Ives (inevitably?) along the way. As a celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States it was in rather better taste than a cage fight.

Photos: Lucky Tang