English Touring Opera are delighted to announce a season of lyric monodramas to tour nationally from October to December. The season features music for solo singer and piano by Argento, Britten, Tippett and Shostakovich with a bold and inventive approach to making opera during social distancing.
This tenth of ten Live from London concerts was in fact a recorded live performance from California. It was no less enjoyable for that, and it was also uplifting to learn that this wasn’t in fact the ‘last’ LfL event that we will be able to enjoy, courtesy of VOCES8 and their fellow vocal ensembles (more below …).
Ever since Wigmore Hall announced their superb series of autumn concerts, all streamed live and available free of charge, I’d been looking forward to this song recital by Ian Bostridge and Imogen Cooper.
The Sixteen continues its exploration of Henry Purcell’s Welcome Songs for Charles II. As with Robert King’s pioneering Purcell series begun over thirty years ago for Hyperion, Harry Christophers is recording two Welcome Songs per disc.
Although Stile Antico’s programme article for their Live from London recital introduced their selection from the many treasures of the English Renaissance in the context of the theological debates and upheavals of the Tudor and Elizabethan years, their performance was more evocative of private chamber music than of public liturgy.
In February this year, Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho made a highly lauded debut recital at Wigmore Hall - a concert which both celebrated Opera Rara’s 50th anniversary and honoured the career of the Italian soprano Rosina Storchio (1872-1945), the star of verismo who created the title roles in Leoncavallo’s La bohème and Zazà, Mascagni’s Lodoletta and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.
Evidently, face masks don’t stifle appreciative “Bravo!”s. And, reducing audience numbers doesn’t lower the volume of such acclamations. For, the audience at Wigmore Hall gave soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn and pianist Simon Lepper a greatly deserved warm reception and hearty response following this lunchtime recital of late-Romantic song.
Collapsology. Or, perhaps we should use the French word ‘Collapsologie’ because this is a transdisciplinary idea pretty much advocated by a series of French theorists - and apparently, mostly French theorists. It in essence focuses on the imminent collapse of modern society and all its layers - a series of escalating crises on a global scale: environmental, economic, geopolitical, governmental; the list is extensive.
For this week’s Live from London vocal recital we moved from the home of VOCES8, St Anne and St Agnes in the City of London, to Kings Place, where The Sixteen - who have been associate artists at the venue for some time - presented a programme of music and words bound together by the theme of ‘reflection’.
'Such is your divine Disposation that both you excellently understand, and royally entertaine the Exercise of Musicke.’
Amongst an avalanche of new Mahler recordings appearing at the moment (Das Lied von der Erde seems to be the most favoured, with three) this 1991 Mahler Second from the 2nd Kassel MahlerFest is one of the more interesting releases.
‘And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven … that old serpent … Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.’
If there is one myth, it seems believed by some people today, that probably needs shattering it is that post-war recordings or performances of Wagner operas were always of exceptional quality. This 1949 Hamburg Tristan und Isolde is one of those recordings - though quite who is to blame for its many problems takes quite some unearthing.
There was never any doubt that the fifth of the twelve Met Stars Live in Concert broadcasts was going to be a palpably intense and vivid event, as well as a musically stunning and theatrically enervating experience.
‘Love’ was the theme for this Live from London performance by Apollo5. Given the complexity and diversity of that human emotion, and Apollo5’s reputation for versatility and diverse repertoire, ranging from Renaissance choral music to jazz, from contemporary classical works to popular song, it was no surprise that their programme spanned 500 years and several musical styles.
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields have titled their autumn series of eight concerts - which are taking place at 5pm and 7.30pm on two Saturdays each month at their home venue in Trafalgar Square, and being filmed for streaming the following Thursday - ‘re:connect’.
The London Symphony Orchestra opened their Autumn 2020 season with a homage to Oliver Knussen, who died at the age of 66 in July 2018. The programme traced a national musical lineage through the twentieth century, from Britten to Knussen, on to Mark-Anthony Turnage, and entwining the LSO and Rattle too.
With the Live from London digital vocal festival entering the second half of the series, the festival’s host, VOCES8, returned to their home at St Annes and St Agnes in the City of London to present a sequence of ‘Choral Dances’ - vocal music inspired by dance, embracing diverse genres from the Renaissance madrigal to swing jazz.
Just a few unison string wriggles from the opening of Mozart’s overture to Le nozze di Figaro are enough to make any opera-lover perch on the edge of their seat, in excited anticipation of the drama in music to come, so there could be no other curtain-raiser for this Gala Concert at the Royal Opera House, the latest instalment from ‘their House’ to ‘our houses’.
"Before the ending of the day, creator of all things, we pray that, with your accustomed mercy, you may watch over us."
With the Live from London digital vocal festival entering the second half of the series, the festival’s host, VOCES8, returned to their home at St Annes and St Agnes in the City of London to present a sequence of ‘Choral Dances’ - vocal music inspired by dance, embracing diverse genres from the Renaissance madrigal to swing jazz.
Where to start but with the eponymous ‘Choral Dances’ from Benjamin Britten’s opera, Gloriana - composed in homage to the newly crowned Elizabeth II in 1953, via a glance back to her historic namesake and predecessor. The six Choral Dances are sung in the Act II masque scene by the people of Norwich, to honour their royal guest. Following the opera’s negative critical reception, Britten excised them from future performances though he did publish the dances in the a cappella form that we heard here, and in a version including tenor and harp.
They are no easy sing: though largely diatonic, the intervallic leaps are wide and often angular, rhythms are complex, and the counterpoint is complicated. Although they were starting ‘cold’ as it were, VOCES8 were characteristically accurate and the intonation was well-centred. ‘Time’ burst into celebratory life, jubilant and vibrant, but more might have been made of the text: yes, the interplay of voices is intricate but lines such as “Time is at his apogee!” seem to demand a deliberate, even hyperbolic, approach to declamation. (There were no texts printed in this week’s digital programme.) The image of a “bearded ancient with a scythe” brought a hush of reverence, and a perfectly tuned unison, from which harmonic tones ricocheted, spread and rang, putting me in mind of the composer’s Hymn to Saint Cecilia. ‘Concord’ was beautiful: the gently alternating chords blended exquisitely, the diatonic harmonies perfumed with a lovely, archaic modality. The homophony aided textual clarity, and the phrases breathed like a lullaby: the ensemble was good, but the start of each phrase requires precise negotiation after each slight silence, and though aware that VOCES8 aspire to well-rehearsed collective coordination, I wondered - given that at this early stage of the concert and the singers were likely to be still ‘settling in’ - whether director Barnaby Smith might usefully have offered some discrete guiding gestures.
‘Time and Concord’ pitted male voices against female, springing forth with elasticity and driving canonic energy, until the ensemble came together with the unison hail, “Gloriana!” and the affectionate assurance that the Queen “hath all our love!” Sopranos Andrea Haines and Eleonore Cockerham were the ‘Country Girls’: the bare intervals, rapid interplay and unsettled harmonies proved quite challenging, but if the tone was a little shrill then I think that this is largely because this particular ‘dance’ is not very conducive to a one-to-a-part texture. The TTBB grouping of ‘Rustics and Fishermen’ was warmer but no less lithe: the chaps sang with a muscular spring, and I loved the relaxed ‘sinking’ which followed the buoyant short phrases. The final ‘Dance of Homage’ was a soothing conclusion.
Thomas Weelkes’ madrigal ‘As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending’, which was published in the 1601 collection The Triumphs of Oriana, was a neat link back to the Elizabethan era proper. The rhythms danced blithely and the six singers (SSATTB) used the homophonic phrase-beginnings to effectively communicate the narrative which tells of the meeting on Latmos Hill between the descending goddess, Vesta, and her nymphs and the ascending Oriana and her shepherd: “Leaving their goddess all alone” the nymphs “hasted thither”, to mingle with the shepherds and sing “mirthful tunes”. The madrigal bloomed richly towards the close suggesting a joyful union - musical and more - of these pastoral dwellers. Orlando di Lasso’s ‘Dessus le Marché D’Arras’ (1584) also has a ‘cheeky’ text, describing the arrival of a Spaniard in the bustling market of Arras and his ensuing offer to pay any woman who accompanies him to his home. VOCES8 flew lightly through the rapid patter, making much of the propelling quaver-quaver-crotchet motif, and shifting meters fluently, though the balance between the voices was not always satisfying, with the female voices sounding a little too light.
Roxanna Panufnik is the ensemble’s current composer in residence and her setting of text from the 136th Psalm, Love Endureth, made for a reflective contrast - though one that seemed rather detached from the theme of ‘choral dances’. Telling of the persecution and deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians, and employing fragments of two ancient Sephardi chants, Love Endureth has a distinctly Jewish colour: VOCES8’s performance was wonderfully radiant, the swirling and oscillating harmonies, and piling close intervals, merging to form a vibrant tonal shimmer. The singers really relished the almost tactile grain of the harmonic hues.
Baritone Christopher Moore had introduced Panufnik’s work by inviting the audience at home to listen out for the repeated return to F# major - the “harmonic port in the storm” - which ultimately emerges triumphant, and symbolises God’s enduring love. It seemed a rather odd ‘pointer’, for anyone other than the musically educated and literate, and possessing perfect pitch, especially since VOCES8 aim to perform diverse repertoire ranging from esoteric classical compositions to the perennially popular. Such eclecticism was indeed upheld in this programme. ‘Straighten Up and Fly Right’ by Nat ‘King’ Cole rocked with an easy swing and gave tenor Blake Morgan an opportunity to show off his talents in the field of jazz; relaxed and debonair, he led the ensemble with silky voice and suave confidence, while bass Jonathan Pacey did a pretty good impression of a double bass riff. Irving Berlin’s ‘Cheek to Cheek’, made famous by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Top Hat, was a collective ballroom-sweep, Cockerham and Haines getting the toes tentatively tapping in leisurely fashion, enabling us to appreciate the rich harmonies, before the tempo snapped into shape and the vocal honours were shared around.
There were two arrangements by Alexander L’Estrange: of Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance’ and of ‘Sway’ by Luis Demetrio and Pablo Beltrán Ruiz. In the latter Pacey was a one-man rhythm section, a superb foundation for the flexible vocal jiving above. As the singers mimed strumming strings and shaking percussion, one could be forgiven for imagining that such ‘instruments’ really could be heard, that the violins were indeed soaring exultantly. Two arrangements of modern folk-songs - ‘Underneath the Stars’ by Kate Rusby and Dougie MacLean’s ‘Caledonia’ (the latter was arranged by Blake Morgan) - offered a softer palette. Again the ‘dance’ theme seemed to slip away, but who would care when they could enjoy such lovely cushioning harmonies, precise ensemble with small inner motifs occasionally foregrounded, and, at the close of Rusby’s song, atmospheric stillness. Educational materials relating to learning and singing ‘Caledonia’ will be made available to schools and colleges via VOCES8’s recently launched Digital Academy: aspiring young singers had much to admire here, particularly the expansion from gentle vocalisation towards sonic, harmonic and registral breadth - as if the energy which had been ‘resting’ within the song had been gradually brought to live and set free.
‘Ain’t that a Kick in the Head’ by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn brought things to a lively close, the two tenors, Morgan and Euan Williamson, enjoying their affectionate rivalry and the rest of the ensemble happy to let their hair down.
The next Live from London concert will be presented by APOLLO5 on 12th September at 7pm.
Claire Seymour
VOCES8: Andrea Haines (soprano), Eleonore Cockerham (soprano), Katie Jeffries-Harris (alto), Barnaby Smith (artistic director & countertenor), Blake Morgan (tenor), Euan Williamson (tenor), Christopher Moore (baritone), Jonathan Pacey (bass)
Benjamin Britten - Choral Dances from Gloriana; Nat ‘King’ Cole (arr. Jim Clements) - ‘Straighten Up and Fly Right’; Irving Berlin (arr. Jim Clements) ‘Cheek to Cheek’; Roxanna Panufnik - Love Endureth; Thomas Weelkes - ‘As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending’; Orlando di Lasso - ‘Dessus le Marché D’Arras’; Kate Rusby arr. Jim Clements - ‘Underneath the Stars’; Dougie MacLean (arr. Blake Morgan) - ‘Caledonia’; Van Morrison (arr. Alexander L’Estrange) - ‘Moondance’; Luis Demetrio and Pablo Beltrán Ruiz (arr. Alexander L’Estrange) - ‘Sway’; Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn (arr. Jim Clements) - ‘Ain’t that a Kick in the Head’.
Live from London, broadcast from The VOCES8 Centre; Saturday 5th September 2020.