On
a yucky* Saturday afternoon, a full house showed up for “My Business Is
to Sing:” Emily Dickinson, Musician and Poet. This was a
quasi-theatrical lecture/concert, curated by George Boziwick, Music
Division Chief of Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts. The
performers were the Red Skies Ensemble, with Elise Toscano as Emily
Dickinson. Some of the program seemed familiar to me; indeed, the same
crew performed “The Musical Parlor of Emily Dickinson” on December 8,
2012 at the library.
The
program consisted of ten short vignettes, including narratives,
readings, and musical performances (not all vignettes had all three
components). Where the 2012 version focused on Ms. Dickinson’s music
binder, which was also referred to here, the current version focused
more on how her musicianship and love of music influenced her writing.
On to the music.
The
first piece, Wood Up Quickstep (1834), with music by John Holloway, was
played by the ensemble, which included piano, bass, mandolin,
percussion, and banjo, fiddle, and harmonica (those last three played by
one performer). Additionally, Mr. Boziwick played harmonica in a couple
of other pieces. The Quickstep was a folk-like dance tune that started
off simply and then became more intricate and interesting. That was
followed by Home Sweet Home (1823), with music by John Howard Payne and
words by Sir Henry Bishop, played by the ensemble and sung by Ms.
Toscano. As I mentioned in 2012, I’m not sure whether or not Ms. Toscano
was using a thin vocal sound as a character determiner, but her reedy
soprano was effective for the most part. The tune was the familiar one,
though it seemed to have some variants (or maybe the tune as I know it
is the variant?). Interestingly, here as in a few other places, the
sheet music was projected on a screen behind the performers. This was a
piece that was in Ms. Dickinson’s music binder—collected sheet music
that included many of her favorites, that were then sent off to, and
bound by, a printer. Ms. Dickinson’s was quite large, at more than one
hundred pieces!
Are
We Almost There (1845), with words and music by Florence Vane, was a
simple tune and text written in response to a dying friend, who wanted
to make it home before expiring but, alas, did not. It was touching and
plaintive, as sung here. There’s a Good Time Coming (1846), words and
music by Charles MacKay and E.L. White, was up tempo, and still
appropriately simple, which is perfect for home musicians, performing
popular songs of the day. This piece was also performed in the 2012
version.
Fisher’s
Hornpipe was an up tempo dance tune, showing the influence of Irish
and, later, minstrel music in Ms. Dickinson’s binder. Old Dan Tucker
(1844), words and music by Daniel Decauter Emmitt, was a real crowd
pleaser on Saturday afternoon, with Ms. Toscano and the ensemble (who
added some vocal harmonies to the refrain), and Mr. Boziwick on
harmonica. The Devil’s Dream, played on mandolin and piano, joined later
by pizzicato fiddle, was an example of improvisation as it might have
been performed by Emily Dickinson.
In
the “My Business Is to Sing” vignette, Ms. Dickinson’s poetry, as
influenced by hymn writing of the day, was set to the tune “St. Anne” by
William Croft, perhaps better known as “O God Our Help in Ages Past.”
Ms. Dickinson’s text was “This Is My Letter to the World.” The audience
was encouraged to sing along. This was the weakest segment, in general,
and certainly my least favorite. John Anderson My Jo, a traditional
Scottish song, was the final musical offering, a somewhat plaintive
ballad that was quite effective.
All
of these, paired with the readings (letters written by, and to, Ms.
Dickinson, as well as some of her poems) and narratives from Mr.
Boziwick, made for a fun, educational afternoon performance. My only
quibble was that during Old Dan Tucker, even though she was using a
microphone, Ms. Toscano was slightly overpowered by the ensemble, and it
was a little hard to hear her. Well, that and including the audience in
the sing along segment.
*Not an official meteorological term.
ConcertMeister
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