Issues

Issue #67, Page Two

It only seems fair to say goodbye in print to the Todi Music Fest of Portsmouth, Virginia, which brought us a grand opera each summer, beginning in 2002 with Virginia's first and only production of Aida. Howard Bender and the board used every resource they could find to produce a spectrum of programs. Classical music aficionados will have a much duller summer this year.

My goal here is to say goodbye by highlighting a very effective endeavor begun only in 2007. In 2006 Rod Dixon, a wonderful lyric tenor, created the role of Tonio in Donizetti's Daughter of the Regiment. Though there were African-American adults and high school students in the chorus, there were no black college students. Mr. Dixon expressed his concern. Since he would be returning to sing Lenski in the 2007 opera Eugene Onegin, Todi's premiere event, he made the effort to network with the teachers at the historically black universities here. Out of this came the new program creating a contest that would award the winners with paid apprenticeships in the chorus of Eugene Onegin. It was named Rod Dixon's American Opera Idol. Prior to the main event, semifinal contests were held at three local universities, Hampton, Norfolk State and Old Dominion. Two contestants were from the Governor's School for the Arts, a high school level program.

It was a fine evening of entertainment and a great deal of fun for the listeners at Grove Baptist Church, Portsmouth, July 26, 2007. The contest allowed eight students to compete for a $1000 cash prize and trip to Los Angeles to see Dixon perform. Grove Baptist Church, Rev. Melvin Marriner, senior pastor, provided $1500 to make these prizes possible. Dixon has said that Todi is the only music festival in the country that has partnered with historically black colleges to provide access and training in opera productions. We were especially pleased that the vocal teachers of these accomplished young people were highlighted by Todi Music Fest Director and emcee Howard Bender in brief interviews.

The contestants were Rachel Boyd (NSU, Patricia Saunders Nixon), James Harris (NSU, Patricia Saunders Nixon), Jasmine Harris (Hampton, Charlene Marchant), William Huggins (Hampton, Lorraine Bell), Justin Merreck (Hampton, Shelia Maye), Frederick Ballentine (Governor's School, Charlene Marchant), La Tetra Lewis (Governor's School, Charlene Marchant), and Erin Hannon (ODU, Kerry Jennings).

The stunningly beautiful winner, Jasmine Harris, in a flowing gold gown, sang the tremendously challenging aria Come scoglio by Mozart from Cosi Fan Tutte. Her teacher at Hampton University and a favorite recitalist of this writer is Charlene Marchant.

Lorraine Bell was an early consultant for Mr. Dixon and her work was instrumental within the university community in bringing the program about. She continues to be a strong advocate for the program. Her student William L.H. Huggins entered the contest at her urging. Here is his letter that eloquently speaks to the need for such a contest.

April 5, 2007

To Mr. Dixon, Mr and Mrs. Bender and Dr. Jarrett,

First Dr. Jarrett, I would like to thank you for bringing Rod Dixon's American Opera Idol to Hampton University and the Hampton Roads area. You have provided an amazing platform for young upcoming artists to be exposed to the industry. To be judged and critiqued by one of America's most noted tenors is an experience in itself.

As a sophomore here at Hampton I never thought about competing in an opera competition. Mrs. Bell told me about the competition and I decided to give it a shot. Now I have been chosen as a semi-finalist. Even if I had not been selected, it would have been a good experience. Thank you so much for seeing the potential in this country boy from South Carolina.

I thoroughly enjoyed the "round table" discussion after the competition. Being able to learn about our experiences and get advice was very rewarding. Rarely do young people get the opportunity to meet and have that one-on-one session with people who have "made it" in the industry. So much was gained and again I thank you. I look forward to seeing you all again in July.

Sincerely,
William L. H. Huggins

December 11, 2007, Trinity Episcopal Church. The quartet opened with Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975) String Quartet No. 1, Opus 49 (1938). Of this quartet Shostakovich said "I tried to convey in it images of childhood, somewhat naive, bright, spring like moods." This is not what I heard at first hearing. At first it just seems to be a pretty melody until the sadness enters the sound. A rhythmic cello (Rebecca Gilmore) keeps a fast pace but is eased away by the mellow violin tune (Simon Lapointe). Much is made of the contrast of deep cello notes and very treble violin. The viola (Jennifer Snyder Kozoroz) takes the lead in the second movement. The probing pain returns and deepens as all four instruments (Mayu Cipriano, second violin) become part of a dialogue. The third movement is a sunny dance tune. In the final movement anxiety builds in a strident opening, gains in intensity, eventually giving way to a cohesive folk-like tune. Again the intensity builds as the instruments separate into divergent voices and come to an abrupt halt.

This quartet set me off on a journey of exploring Shostakovich quartets and how they fit into the pattern of his life. In his enthusiastic youth he was very successful as a composer of works for opera and ballet. But in January 1936, when he was 30, Stalin, who very much liked some of his film music, went to see his opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk Districk. His music was denounced in Pravda soon after and he was told by the party boss to "change his aims, reject his formalistic mistakes, and ensure that his music is understandable to the broad masses." He was also advised to submit opera or ballet librettos for their approval. He never completed another opera or ballet. In 1938 he wrote his first string quartet, the first of 15 that spanned the rest of his life. Shostakovich is quoted in Testimony as having said "It's hard to keep an eye on poetry. And you can't keep watch on composers either, particularly if they don't write ballets or operas. You can write a little quartet and play it at home with friends." This sounds simple enough but the more I read the more complicated it is to understand how a creative genius' expression was influenced by a brutal dictator who killed so many other artists and intellectuals. He survived and pursued his music at a price, outliving Stalin and finding censorship had changed but had not gone away.

Next we heard Giuseppe Verdi's (1813-1901) Quartet in E minor. It is a series of fine ideas laid out, one after the other, highly entertaining and light in mood. Written in Naples (1873) as a lark when the lead soprano for his opera was ill, he amused himself by writing. It is romantic and dramatic and the Scherzo movement features the cello in a meltingly lovely aria. Simon Lapoint, violinist, introduced the piece and told how enjoyable bringing it to life had been for the quartet (and also for the audience as it turned out).

The last piece on the program was Mozart's final string quartet in F Major, K 590. The first movement is happy, light and has a lively, exuberant theme that repeats in overlapping lines, dancing toward an abrupt ending. The second movement's rhythmic figure takes center stage. It is more somber than the first movement but it's apparent that the players are enjoying what they are doing. The third movement is a wild ride, even rollicking, with one instrumental line chasing another. As the piece ends I conclude that this performance emphasized the exuberant side of Mozart. It emphasized the joy in being alive, able to play and sing for one more day. There are more elegant and refined ways of performing this quartet, but they are not as lively an experience as these fine, young performers provided.

Ambrosia co-founder Jennifer Snyder Kozoroz and her husband, Michael, have relocated to Amarillo, Texas where Jenny is playing with the Harrington String Quartet , is principal violist with the Amarillo Symphony and is teaching viola at West Texas A&M. Michael is working for Anderson Merchandising and they are expecting a little girl in December! We wish them the best. They will be greatly missed .

In its 39th season, co-directors F. Gerard Errante and Allen Shaffer were each featured performers in a Norfolk Chamber Consort program. At the end of the season they turned leadership over to a new artistic director. In this, their 35th year of leading the consort, the community had a chance to celebrate all that has been achieved by them and the collaborating artists that have offered the audience fine performances in four programs each season.

The season's second program, "The Art of Transcription," featured music by J.S. Bach (1685-1707), and Bach's inspiration Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707), performed by duo harpsichordists Allen Shaffer and Thomas Marshall who call themselves Les Deux Claveçins. The third program featured F. Gerard Errante, clarinetist with his new partner, clarinetist and pianist D. Gause. They call their duo Clarion Synthesis.

Starting in the 2008-2009 season, the consort's 40th, Andrey Kasparov will become the new artistic director and there will be several new performers on the roster.

Titled "The Art of Transcription," the second program of Norfolk Chamber Consort's 39th season took place on November 19, 2007 at Chandler Recital Hall. Transcriptions, the arrangement of musical compositions for a performing medium other than the original, are not unusual. For J.S. Bach (1685-1750) and other Baroque composers it was quite common. The practice continues today as demonstrated by the first selection on this program. The last of four suites for orchestra, BWV 1069 in D Major by Bach was heard in a 2006 transcription by Pierre Gouin for duo-harpsichords. This music is very familiar in its original string orchestral form and it was a surprise in the finer, thinner harpsichord sound. The measured tread of the great number of tinkling, tiny sounds came alive for this listener in the later dance movements: Gavottes I and II, Bourrée and Gigue. The bass lines, that we had been encouraged to listen for in Dr. Shaffer's opening remarks, tended to fuse because of the closeness of timbre of the two instruments in this arrangement.

Bach, himself, transcribed Concerto in C minor for two harpsichords, BWV 1060 from a now lost concerto for oboe and violin (1735-40). This music is heavenly; the pacing was excellent with the strings ensemble work remarkably clean. On violins we heard Yun Zhang and Lesa Bishop; on viola, Beverly Kane Baker; on cello, Michael Daniels and on double bass, Christopher White.

After intermission we heard a transcription made by Allen Shaffer of Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) Fantasia on the Chorale Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein, BuxWV 210. There was a logical flow to the music that kept the lines crisp. Two harpsichords together added a fullness of sound to this music. From the introductory remarks we learned that the duo Les Deux Claveçins, Allen Shaffer (DMA, 1970) and Tom Marshall (MM 1980) performed this piece at Hill Auditorium at the University of Michigan Both performers had taken advanced degrees at U Mich. They returned to celebrate both their teacher Marilyn Mason's 60th anniversary as organ professor and Buxtehude's death 300 years ago.

The final piece was Concerto in C minor for two harpsichords and strings, BWV 1062. Bach had transcribed it from his original for two violins and strings. In the andante, second movement, the ensemble failed to create the sustained tension that can rivet my attention. The glitter in the allegro assai (third movement) soon petered out. The little violin figures that punctuate the sound did not have the needed bite and the pacing gave it a romantic feeling. The bass lines in the harpsichords were all but obscured. The modern stringed instruments overpowered the harpsichords. Perhaps if the string players were placed behind the harpsichords the balance would be more true to Baroque sound.

A recommended CD can be found on Newport Classics NC 60023 - Anthony Newman and Mary Jane Newman, harpsichords, with the Brandenburg Collegium Orchestra. From the CD notes: "Baroque counterpoint developed with a strong sense of tonal center. As the bass line began to acquire independence, the concept of the continuo developed (a cello or similar instrument to play the bass line, plus a keyboard to reinforce the bass and fill in the harmonies). That left the melody available for a solo instrument or solo group in a concerto." The CD contains Concertos BWV 1052, 1056 for solo harpsichord and BWV 1060, 1061 for two harpsichords.

The third program featured Clarion Synthesis - F. Gerard Errante, clarinet and D. Gause, clarinet/piano. Six of the seven sets were by living composers. The program opened with Eric P. Mandat (b.1957) Ritual (2000) for two clarinets. The stage went black and when the lights came up Gerry Errante emerged from the right and Ms. Gause came in from the left, each playing continuously. They moved to center stage, crossed clarinets and then moved apart. When they come back to center stage they turned their backs to the audience and as they touched their backs together the music was most harmonious. This sort of slow dance continued throughout, choreographed as a ritual. They were very effective both musically with technical polish and visual interest.

Composer Edwin Dugger (b.1940) introduced his piece On Spring's Eve for clarinet, piano, violin and cello (2000) and told us that he composed it for his teacher Richard Kaufmann's 70th birthday. The piece is a collage of sound swatches assembled from coloristic fragments tossed out by the instruments in what seems at first to be at random. There is a nervous, rippling sound from the clarinet played by Mr. Errante, echoed in the piano by Oksana Lutsyshyn, the cello plucked by Michael Daniels punctuates the line by Yun Zhang's violin reminiscent of train wheels rolling in a hint of a Viennese waltz in triple meter. Emotionally evocative, the ensemble's work was tight, creating a spectrum of intensity, gray, serious, even torturous.

By contrast, the piece that followed, Twilight (1990) for clarinet and piano by Mark Carlson (b.1952) could have been called "Nightclub on Valentine's Day / Close Dancing." Expansive, leisurely, organic, even too pretty, this was love poetry spoken by Errante's lyrical clarinet entwined by Lutsyshyn's feeling piano. In the selection "French Art Songs" they gave us Claude Debussy's (1862-1918) languorous Beau Soir and a fast passed Mandoline that races forward, then slows. The piano accompaniment is unchanged while the clarinet gives a very consistent sound as the voice. The sound was beautifully shaped in Francis Poulenc's (1875-1937) Bluet, Les Chemins de L'Amour, Hôtel and Voyage à Paris.

After intermission Judith Shatin (b.1949) introduced her composition Glyph for clarinet, string quartet and piano (1984). Ms. Shatin, a distinguished professor at the University of Virginia, adapted her piece, originally for viola, especially for Mr. Errante for this concert. In the music she captures the ephemeral quality of sound in our space/time continuum. There is an open, tentative quality in the first movement, Luminous, as if it were searching for a center. In the second movement, Flickering, I felt unsettled, insecure with the pizzicato strings. Filled with glissandos, her third movement, Ecstatic, shimmers gloriously. The final movement, Incandescent, uses a variety of colors in the clarinet to create auditory flames enriched by strings and piano.

Recorded sound begins the piece Water Voyage (2007, world premiere) by Alex Shapiro (b.1962) written for two clarinets and pre-recorded electronic sound. There was a flow of tones that carried me into a deeply relaxed state. Ms. Gause's clarinet sounds somehow oriental and percussive. There is enough variety in texture to keep the music interesting and not enough to break the mood created.

Our featured performers closed the program with a composition by Ms. Gause (b.1957), el rastro español (the Spanish trail) playing the piano with Mr. Errante on several clarinets in this imagistic journey over an old desert commerce trail. The piece begins with Ms. Gause plucking strings inside the piano. This changes into lyrical cocktail music. On a half clarinet and a full clarinet played simultaneously we hear sound reminiscent of a didgeridoo. Later they swing out on some jazz riffs using tinkling treble contrasted with mid-keyboard notes, spinning out relaxing pleasant music.

Their encore was a duo jazz piece that uses familiar tunes in the clarinet and dulcimer-like plucked strings of the piano, moving us toward sweet dreams. The couple hugged as they took their bows. We wish them health, peace and joy in their planned life together, first in Las Vegas where she teaches, then a year in Paris. Hopefully they will choose to come and perform in Norfolk from time to time.

All reviews by John Campbell unless otherwise noted.