Dame Sarah Connolly and Joseph Middleton have teamed up for another interesting recital album. It’s quite varied. It starts with Chausson’s La Poème de l’amour et de la mer which is actually two songs with a piano interlude. It’s very fin de siècle chanson with the piano line rather more interesting than the vocal line but pretty decent stuff, if a bit emotionally overwrought.
Barber’s Three Songs Op.10 are quite well known, especially the last; “I hear an army”. They are dark and dramatic and suit Connolly’s voice very well. Next is the often heard Debussy piece Trois Chansons de Bilitis which purports to be settings of translations of actual Sapphic texts but which sound exactly like a 19th century Frenchman would imagine a Sapphic text to be; i.e languorous. Nicely done though. Next we come to a pair of declamatory songs by Copland; “The world feels dusty” and “I’ve heard an organ talk sometimes”. Definitely a welcome change of pace. Continue reading
Thursday night at the Jane Mallett Theatre Soundstreams and Music Toronto presented a concert featuring the Gryphon Trio (Annalee Patipatanakoon – violin, Roman Borys – cello, Jamie Parker – piano) and others. Also two world premières.
There was never a chance that Emily D’Angelo’s solo recital at Koerner Hall was going to be a steady procession of German lieder and French chansons with the odd Broadway number thrown in and it wasn’t. It was what D’Angelo fans would expect and (some of us at least) crave; lots of women composers and lots of contemporary music. There were five sets.
operaramblings 