Van Dam Explores Emotions in Illuminating Vocal Recital

Great vocal recitalists go beyond storytelling to reflect on narrative while distilling emotion--and they are able to share their discoveries. And the greatest ones can do it all with voice alone, delivering earth-shattering experiences without extra gestures. When that happens, as it did Thursday night in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the effect is doubly moving.

Jose van Dam, the justifiably celebrated Belgian bass-baritone, is one of the greatest. This week, he held a rapt audience tightly through a complex and touching recital of lieder by Brahms and Richard Strauss and melodies by Faure, Duparc and Ravel at our Music Center.

As did the singer himself, one must also credit the contributions of Polish pianist Maciej Pikulski, a 28-year-old musician of impeccable technique, coloristic variety and textual sensitivity. Everything about Pikulski’s accomplishments stamps him a major artist.

Together, Van Dam and Pikulski plumbed the depths of expression in art-songs both familiar and esoteric. The less-known items--a three-song Duparc group, for instance--revealed the composer’s range and the singer’s endless subtleties. And the familiar chestnuts benefited from a probing reconsideration that netted new insights and surprising freshness.

Overt climaxes were clearly not Van Dam’s aim, though his program moved through well-planned highs and lows, alternating musical action and quietude. He saved full-voice expression for the most telling moments, and when they came, they were the result of control, not bellow. His soft singing remains a model of emotional exploration and technical finesse.

In an evening of great communication, the five opening Brahms songs may have been the most successful, especially the contemplative inner group of “Dein blaues Auge,” “Feldeinsamkeit” and “Auf dem Kirchhofe.” The casual listener might think these songs too similar, but Van Dam found a different core in each, delineating shades of melancholy, parsing each variation on introspection.

The three encores--Schumann’s “Ich grolle nicht,” “La calunnia” from “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” and “Some Enchanted Evening”--also proved a high point. Besides the deepest sort of artistic probing in each, there were extramusical reasons to pay attention:

“Ich grolle nicht” served as a memento of Van Dam’s superlative recorded contribution to the play “Old Wicked Songs,” seen in New York City last year and here this fall. Basilio in Rossini’s most popular opera was Van Dam’s debut role, in 1960; one does not expect to experience a more detailed, controlled or delightful performance of it than the one he gave Thursday.

As for “Some Enchanted Evening,” which the singer offered in memory of Ezio Pinza, Van Dam’s simple homage, clearly delivered and musically impeccable, restored it to its rightful place despite generations of abuse.

There were no low points in the evening, no areas of sagging interest or dutiful performing. Van Dam’s basso credentials have shrunk--he is 57--and his low notes have focus but no power. Never mind; the memories of having heard this great singer illuminating and illustrating great art will resonate for years to come.