Preserving Art Song With Help From Lively Pianist at SongFest

The mission of the Summer SongFest--now in its fifth year and encamped at Chapman University in Orange--remains to offer workshops for singers and pianists and to fight the ever-uphill battle of preserving art song in America. What changes from year to year is the performance plan, which on Sunday afternoon offered a gala concert featuring current faculty and alumni from previous SongFests.

Though this recital, unlike previous ones, had no stated theme, all of the texts in Parts I through V dealt with one subject--love--usually in sentimental terms. Soprano Adina Aaron was entrusted with the luminescent musical language of Korngold, soprano Yang-Hi Kim performed songs by five leading Italian opera composers, baritone Thomas Roy sang Grieg’s Opus 48 Lieder, soprano Jessica Rivera handled Turina’s “Poema en forma de canciones,” and faculty soprano Ruth Golden offered five Richard Strauss lieder. In Part VI, all five singers took turns in a wide range of American folk, gospel, art songs and opera, accompanied by faculty pianist Martin Katz. Besides hearing some pleasing young voices, what one learned most vividly from the performances is the crucial, underrated role of the pianist in making this format work. With no disrespect intended to the other pianists of the day, whenever Katz was playing, the accompaniment immediately came alive, with the long, continuous line of each song never in doubt, with every rubato firmly guided and supported.

We also learned that experience counts. Though Golden’s voice may not have been as fresh as those of her younger colleagues, she and Katz displayed a terrific sense of how Strauss’ songs can flow naturally and movingly if you grasp their structures and never let go of the line. That kind of communication will save art song.