Thursday’s concert by members of the Ensemble Studio in the RBA was an all French affair (at least as far as language went) and it was rather good.  Karoline Podolak iniated proceedings with Mattia Senesi at the piano with Kurt Weill’s “Youkali”.  Now I’ve heard this sung by everybody from Barbara Hannigan to Benjamin Appl and I’d have to see that Ms. Podolak is right up there.  There was no male stripper though.

Korin Thomas-Smith has something of a penchant for the bizarre and I think that’s a fair description of two sets drawn from Apollinaire’s Bestiaire.  There were five of the Poulenc settings (about as far from Dialogues of the Carmelites as one could imagine) and six from Rachel Laurin’s more atonal and abrasive settings.  I would probably sing these songs if I had four dromedaries and could sing.  Fine work from Brian Cho at the piano. Continue reading →