MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE ART REVIEWS : FRAUCHIGER AT SCHOENBERG INSTITUTE

Generous to a fault, Ingrid Frauchiger’s recital at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute on Friday night offered no fewer than 10 serious works by nine composers, all written within the past 90 years. More important, the Swiss soprano, appearing here with her own touring sextet of American players, made this agenda compelling.

Still, it seemed too much, not only for its 135-minute length, but for the density of thought each writer put in his--no female composers were represented--music. One almost came away craving a long cool drink of minimalism. Almost.

Most colorful was the world premiere performance of Anthony Vazzana’s witty, neo-Ravelian Two Songs (on American folk texts). Writing idiomatically for soprano, bass clarinet and piano, Vazzana has found and described in sounds both the humor and the dark side of these poems. The performance, by Frauchiger, Ron Wakefield and Joseph Lawson, seemed pointed and authoritative.

Most impressive was a solo piece for percussion, “Rogosanti,” by the English composer James Wood. Written last year for Steven Schick, who played it here, “Rogosanti” explores the ritual and healing aspects of music played on Oriental instruments.

Most heartfelt was Morten Lauridsen’s “Be Still, My Soul,” for soprano, clarinet, cello and piano, the impassioned opener to this long program, but one which immediately grabbed the interest of the crowd in the Institute’s concert room. Except for Frauchiger’s unidiomatic English, this rendering, with Bruce Nolan, Michael Flaksman and Lawson, made strong points.

Most trendy was “Star,” a long but shallow setting (1986) of Joanie Whitebird’s spacey poem of that name by Peter Lieuwen, a lecturer at UC Santa Barbara. Most intellectual was Hans Holliger’s complicated, highly ambivalent “Village Themes,” sung in German.

From this considerable evidence--the program also included works by Nono, Wyttenbach, Jarrell and Webern--Frauchiger is an able, vocally inconsistent exponent of this literature. Pianist Lawson, who seems to be the musical leader here, takes the reins naturally and plays with flair and virtuosity, as do Flaksman, Nolan, Schick, Wakefield and percussionist Julie Washburn.