The Carmel Music Society opened its 2000-2001 concert season on October 18 at Sunset Center in Carmel with a lieder recital featuring Danish baritone Bo Skovhus and pianist Warren Jones in a program consisting of five songs by Haydn, a selection of songs from Schubert's
Schwanengesang and Schumann's
Dichterliebe.
In addition to a distinguished career in opera, Skovhus has also built a reputation as a lieder singer and has made some highly regarded Schubert and Schumann recordings with pianist Helmut Deutsch. This concert represents his first appearance of on the Monterey Peninsula, and thus his is a welcome new face on our musical scene.
This concert seemed very brief and very serious. There were no operatic arias or vocal chestnuts to delight the opera buffs in the audience (and we do have a few), nor were there any modern art songs or Broadway hits to give the program more variety. This recital began with lieder, and it ended with lieder.
At the beginning of the recital in the Haydn songs, Mr. Skovhus' voice seemed rather constrained and distant, and not at all what we might expect from someone with his operatic experience. However, the songs themselves were pleasant, if not terribly interesting, and the two musicians rendered them in a sensitive, musicianly manner. The five songs from the
Schwanengesang that followed reinforced our impression that there was a dimension missing in Mr. Skovhus' presentation. These are well known songs and arouse a certain expectation in an audience, which in this Schubert group was not entirely fulfilled. As so often happens in lieder recitals, it seems to take half the program for the singer to truly warm up to the task
Therefore, not surprisingly, after intermission (described quaintly in the printed program in the British fashion as the "interval") it was a different story. Suddenly in the Schumann
Dichterliebe Mr. Skovhus revealed a much stronger, more vibrant voice, a more powerful projection and an exciting new dramatic persona. From this point onward, we became more aware of the expressive subtleties of which his vocal art is capable, and it made for a more satisfying musical experience. Among the high points of the cycle, were magic moments in the
Ich grolle nicht where Skovhus revealed a magnificent range of emotion and expression, and in
Hör' ich das Liedchen klingen when he achieved a lovely, sad and heartfelt mood. This was music making on a very high level, indeed.
It has to be said that pianist Warren Jones contributed enormously to the evening's pleasure. His collaboration in the Schubert and the Schumann was sensitive, colorful and extremely musical. After observing his musical artistry in 1999 when he appeared at Sunset Center with soprano Ruth Ann Swenson, his appearance with Mr. Skovhus in this concert served to confirm and enhance the strong impression he had made on the previous occasion.
The piano parts of the Schumann cycle require a sensitive, musicianly pianist to realize the magic and charm of Schumann's score since the piano parts are every bit as important as the vocal score. Mr. Jones effortlessly (but never glibly) spun lovely melodies and textures that always enhanced but never got in the way of the vocal line. One of the most beautiful moments in the concert was the pianistic postlude to
Dichterliebe where Mr. Jones brought the cycle to a hushed conclusion with some beautifully shaped dynamics and sensitive phrasing.
As is the Carmel Music Society's custom in the past, it omitted Warren Jones' name from the cover of the printed program. This may seem like a minor quibble, but Mr. Jones did not serve as an "accompanist" (don't get me started on this obsolete and repugnant designation), but rather as an equal partner and collaborative artist in what actually constitutes "vocal chamber music."
There was a single encore at the end of the concert, and it was Schubert's lively
Der Musensohn.Skovhus tossed it of with great gusto, and, of course, here was yet again a
tour de force for pianist Jones who played up a storm of notes, but, as always, quite effortlessly.
End
