On Monday, April 19, the Carmel Music Society presented soprano Ruth Ann Swenson, assisted by pianist Warren Jones, in a superb recital at Sunset Center in Carmel.
Wow!!! In twenty-five years of attending concerts in the Carmel Music Society series, this concert, along with the one given by Yo-Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax in the 1980s, stand out as a kind of extraordinary musical experience we rarely hear in concert halls today. Ruth Ann Swenson and Warren Jones are two professionals who go way beyond the mere craft of presenting music and elevate it to a sublime level. Although there was a slight emotional coolness in the beginning of the recital, as the evening progressed Ms. Swenson revved up and achieved a cumulative effect that had the audience in the palm of her hand. At the end of the concert there was a firestorm of applause, three magnificent encores, and a well-deserved standing ovation.
In her opening aria, Francesco Cavalli's
Vaghe stele Ms. Swenson made a strong impression with the flexibility and sweet sonority of her lovely voice.
Speranze, which followed, offered a nicely chosen contrast to her opening aria, and the lovely
pianissimo ending was glorious.
In Rossini's
L'invito, which sounds for all the world like an early Chopin Polonaise (not surprising, since Chopin was an ardent fan of Rossini and Bellini) Ms. Swenson continued to wow us with her fantastic control of dynamics and beautiful shaping of phrases. In the two Bellini arias,
Almen se non poss'io and
Per pieta, bell'idol mio we heard some more lovely piano playing by Mr. Jones and further instances of Ms. Swenson combining a remarkable intimacy with an effortless
bel canto bravura.
In the tender Verdi aria,
La seduzione Ms. Swenson achieved memorable moments of magic and her final cadenza was stunning.
Stornello which followed was a delicious tongue-in-cheek romp and a delight for the audience.
Ms. Swenson chose Mozart to end the first half of the program. After the soulful recitative
Misera, dove son! the following aria,
Ah! non son io che parló was a knockout. The range of her dramatic ability was again stunning.
After intermission three lovely French songs by Reynaldo Hahn and Alfred Bachelet provided a nice contrast with the Italian repertoire we heard in the first half of the recital. Hahn's
Si mes vers avaient des ailes was sung with a disarming simplicity and understated dynamics. Its quiet ending was one of the high points of this recital. In
L'heure exquise, which featured a sweet, flowing piano accompaniment like the song that preceded it, it was uncanny how Ms. Swenson was able to project even in the most
pianissimo passages to the farthest reaches of Sunset Center (despite the alleged acoustical shortcomings of the hall).
In the chanson,
Chère nuit by Bachelet, pianist Jones showed what an extraordinary musician he is, as he effortlessly spun his own brand of magic. His beautifully shaped melodies and carefully pedaled textures were a delight for the ear and suggested to us that he is actually a great singer imprisoned in the body of a pianist. The Bachelet song is a charming work full of subtle surprises, and Ms. Swenson gave it her best as she let the melodies ebb and flow in the most inevitable and natural manner imaginable.
What an interesting experience it was to hear the four songs by John Duke. The "Little Elegy," in the dusky key of D Minor, was a gem and made a powerful impression. "The Bird" with its wonderful effects in the piano part (but, no cornball trills, we noticed) contrasted with the soaring melodies in the vocal part, and "I carry your heart" added more moments of charm and magic.
Rachmaninoff's
Vocalise, often heard in any number of various arrangements, was heard here in its original form, for soprano and piano, and it was lovingly "vocalized" by Ms. Swenson. To conclude the program, Swenson and Jones blew us away with Meyerbeer's
Ombre légère, qui suis mes pas. This was a dazzling display of vocal virtuosity, but it was also always unforced and musical, and just another example of how singing for Ms. Swenson is as natural as breathing.
Yes, there were some encores:
O mio babbino caro from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi,
Ah! Je veux vivre from Gounod's
Romèo et Juliette and "Somewhere, Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz." The crowd pleaser here was the
Ah! Je veux vivre which was total "knockouts Ville." In the concluding encore from "The Wizard of Oz" Ms. Swenson sang with a natural unforced charm that warmed the heart.
It seems to be the custom of the Carmel Music Society to omit the assisting pianist's name from the cover of its printed program; Mr. Warren Jones is no mere accompanist, but rather an extremely distinguished pianist in his own right. His fabulous skill and musical sensibility enhanced this recital to an extraordinary degree.
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