The first of two DMA recitals I attended on Tuesday in Walter Hall was given by contralto Nicole Percifield.  It’s always interesting to hear this comparatively rare voice type; especially in an interesting and well thought out programme.

The first half of the programme was songs scored for contralto, piano and viola.  It’s intriguing because the range of the viola is very similar to that of a contralto.  In this case Grace Kyungrok Moon played viola with Joel Goodfellow at the piano for Brahms’ “Gestillte Sehnsucht” (from Zwei Gesänge, Op. 91).  The text is by Rückert and it’s definitely at the romantic/sentimental end of the spectrum.  It was pleasant to listen to with Nicole’s rich lower register brought out nicely. Continue reading →