Midtown Concerts (9/15/22)

Shakespeare’s Songs|
Sarah Pillow, Soprano; Ronn McFarlane, Lute; Sorab Wadia, Actor/Tenor

New season, new space. St. Malachy's on W. 49th Street

Twelfth Night ~ O Mistress Mine – Thomas Morley (1507–1602); Merry Wives of Windsor ~ Greensleeves – Anonymous (Ballet Lute Book c. 1590), Francis Cutting (c. 1550–1595/1596), Anonymous (Thysius Lute Book c. 1600); Fortune My Foe – John Dowland (1563–1626);
The Tempest ~ Where the Bee Sucks – Robert Johnson (1583–1633), Full Fathom Five, Lord Willoughby’s Welcome Home – John Dowland (1563–1626); Othello ~ The Willow Song – Anonymous
Pavana in F major No. 1 “Bray” – William Byrd (1543–1623); As You Like It ~ It Was A Lover and His Lass – Thomas Morley (First Book of Ayres, 1600)

Sonnet 65 ~ Since brass, nor stone; Sonnet 29 ~ When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes; Sonnet 99 ~ The forward violet thus did I chide; Sonnet 30 ~ When to the sessions of sweet; Sonnet 66 ~ Tired with all these, for restful death I cry; Sonnet 25 ~ Let those who are in for with their stars

The first song was for soprano and lute, and it had a sort of folk song flavor. The three versions of Greensleeves, for solo lute, were (i) straightforward, (ii) more varied, and (iii) slightly fancier, with more ornamentation. 

Fortune My Foe (soprano and lute) began with an a cappella verse by the soprano, then the lute was added. With its slow tempo, it was not quite a dirge—but it was awfully close. After a solo lute interlude, it concluded with soprano and lute.  

Also for soprano and lute, Where the Bee Sucks was bright and jolly. The soprano and lutenist continued with Full Fathom Five, which opened slowly, picked up tempo a little, and (from the other side of the performance space) included the tenor in a little duet section that featured a nice setting of the text “ding dong bell.” A lute solo followed that was gentle and dance-like. 

The Willow Song (soprano and lute) was slow, slightly sad, and somewhat lengthy. A lute solo was up next. It was mournful and lovely, then there was a section that somehow managed to sound hopeful before returning to mournful. 

The concert closed with the soprano and lute with It Was a Lover and His Lass which, with its bright tempo, was cheerful and jolly. The sonnets were interspersed between and among the musical selections. 

Interestingly, at the beginning of the performance the audience was asked to treat the afternoon as a one-act play and reserve all applause until the end. And they/we actually did!

ConcertMeister

Rite of Summer Music Festival (9/10/22)

Sybarite5 

Groove Machine – Marc Mellits; Movement & Location – Punch Brothers (arr. Paul Kim); Yann’s Flight – Shawn Conley; Revolve – Radiohead (arr. Paul Kim); Three Armenian folk songs – Komitas; Con un nudo en la garganta – Pedro Giraudo; Slow Burn – Jessica Meyer ; My Desert, My Rose – Aleksandra Vrebalov 

Sybarite5 is a string quintet—a regular string quartet with a bass added. The music was mostly modern jazz. The first piece had driving rhythms from the get-go, with a mix of bowing and pizzicato (plucking). As I said, quite modern sounding. The second piece was very similar in style to the first, though it had an interesting solo cello line that was then passed around to the other players. 

The third was a gentler version of jazz that included more actual tunes. A middle section was a little more boisterous before returning to gentle. It went on a bit long, with a couple of phrases that sounded like they could be endings but weren’t, until one finally was. Revolve had lots of pizzicato playing in a modern jazz style again. Words that came to my mind were scattered, fractured, almost frantic, and ... lengthy. 

The three Armenian folk songs were introduced by the cellist, who informed us that this concert was her first with the group, as she recently joined them. I only caught the names of the first two—Red Shawl and Spring. The first had a lovely and lilting opening that carried through the entire piece, even when it built in intensity and tempo. The second was mysterious and moody, a haunting not-quite-dirge. The third was cheery and bright even though it was set in a minor key. These were my favorites of the afternoon. 

The sixth piece had a title that translates into “With a Knot in Your Throat.” It was gently dance-like, but gentle in a strong way before veering into almost frantic and finishing that way. The seventh piece was composed for this group, and had modern sounds that didn’t quite do it for me. 

My Desert, My Rose opened with a bass solo, then added cello, viola, and violins (first, then second). Somber but not sad, it had a slow build in intensity, sort of like a single idea that stretched way out until it just stopped. 

The encore was Radiohead’s Weird Fishes, not that I recognized it at all. It also got the frantic modern jazz treatment. While not always my cup of tea, I’m still certainly glad that I attended the concert, the last of this season’s Rite of Summer. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be back next season as well.

ConcertMeister