The Quest: Don Quixote and Other Wanderers

Carnegie Neighborhood Concert

This is a very worthwhile endeavor, bringing free concerts to all five boroughs. This one was also a part of the Marilyn Horne legacy at Carnegie Hall.

Andrew Garland, baritone, with Warren Jones, piano, presented a very well thought out song recital on Saturday. The program was:

Songs of Travel, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958); Der Wanderer (D. 489), An Schwager Kronos (D. 369), and Der Musensohn (D. 764), Franz Schubert (1797–1828); Selections from Cantos di Cifar y del mar dulce, Gabriela Lena Frank (b. 1972); Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, Maurice Ravel (1875–1937); Selections from American Folk Set, Steven Mark Kohn (b. 1957); and The Impossible Dream, from Man of La Mancha, Mitch Leigh (b. 1928).

Songs of Travel is a cycle of nine songs. After the first, The Vagabond, Mr. Garland wisely halted applause. His nicely modulated voice served this cycle very well. The second song in the cycle had an arpeggiated accompaniment while the third had a more lied-like accompaniment à la Schubert. I have often heard individual songs from this cycle but this was my first hearing of the cycle in its entirety and it was most enjoyable.

The Schubert set was well performed, though I found the tempo for the third song to be almost too brisk. My opinion could possibly be colored by well-loved recordings that I’ve listened to over and over.

Intermission. At the end of the intermission, it was announced that Ms. Horne was in attendance. There was an audible gasp. Ms. Horne, gracious as always, joked that—yes, she was still alive. It’s obvious that the song recital is near and dear to her heart.

Of the three Gabriela Lena Frank songs presented (ostensibly part of a larger cycle to be completed at a later date), two were commissioned by the Horne Foundation. The first presented individual phrases that sounded almost medieval in nature and also included spoken words in pitched phrases. The three were quasi-operatic in nature and Mr. Garland successfully altered his tone and vocal presence for these three—with less obvious vocal technique and more straight-ahead singing.

Ravel brought us back to a concert/song recital technique, with nicely varied tempos and presentations.

The Kohn folk set presented folk songs and tunes in new settings, reminiscent of Aaron Copland. Once again, Mr. Garland switched gears vocally and gave us a less formal sound, well suited to these folk settings. With “The Impossible Dream,” we essentially had the consummate “wanderer” song, but to my ear it was a little bit too clipped and a little bit too hurried. Yes, I know, interpretations can vary—that’s just my take on this interpretation.

Throughout, Mr. Jones was an impressive collaborator. Did he actually compose the encore—Way out West on Westin Avenue? Mr. Garland sang it with an appropriate twang—and then I realized that the same twang had been used in the folk song set. Perhaps a little bit of variation is in order. Still, overall this was a fine song recital performed extremely well.

ConcertMeister