The Mirror Visions Ensemble in Review
The Mirror Visions Ensemble in Review Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY October 23, 2011
Mirror Visions Ensemble
The name “mirror vision” refers to the ensemble’s initial interest in performing multiple settings of a single text. One such “mirror vision” was performed on this concert. We also heard two commissioned works, something which has become an important part of the ensemble’s mission. Many of The Mirror Visions Ensemble’s concerts have a unifying theme; tonight’s program was called “Aphrodite and Athena: A Portrait in Music of Isabella Stewart Gardner.” It was introduced by the ensemble’s artistic director, Tobé Malawitsa. As is most often the case with pre-performance speeches, it was too long, and was delivered in a somewhat disorganized fashion which did not compare favorably with the well-prepared musical performances which followed. In addition, some of the comments were just a rehash of the program notes. But I am happy to report that the comments and readings which Ms. Malawitsa offered between the concert’s sets were interesting, cogent, and skillfully delivered. On the other hand, I am not happy to report that throughout the concert the house lights were so low as to make it almost impossible to read the texts and translations in the printed program. It is strange that, after going to the trouble of printing the texts and translations, a little time during the dress rehearsal wasn’t set aside to make sure that there would be enough light in the house so that the audience could comfortably read them. It is also strange that, after attempting to break down the “wall between audience and performers” with a chatty pre-concert speech, the “wall” was reconstructed by performing on a brightly lit stage to a darkened audience.
The four members of The Mirror Visions Ensemble (soprano Vira Slywotsky, tenor Scott Murphree, baritone Jesse Blumberg and pianist Alan Darling) are all wonderful performers, as we heard during the recital’s solo songs. Not only do all the singers have fine voices and clear diction, they use these attributes skillfully in communicating the meaning of the words. However the lack of light, which made reading the translations impossible, effectively foiled their valiant efforts. I loved the way they worked as an ensemble during the concert’s three commissioned works (two by Christopher Berg and one by Scott Wheeler) and in Mr. Wheeler’s “The Stairway of Jade.” Most impressive was how, during consonant chordal passages, they eliminated the warm vibrato which served them well as soloists so as to enable us to hear with clarity what chords they were singing. And Alan Darling is an extraordinary accompanist – both supportive and, where called for, virtuosic. His playing during Henri Duparc’s “Le gallop” and Joaqin Nin’s “Malagueña” was especially memorable.
The concert began and ended with commissioned works by Christopher Berg. We first heard “Incominciam,” a setting of part of Canto II of Dante’s “Inferno.” It is skillfully written in an accessible, mildly dissonant language which is leavened by consonant chords. I especially enjoyed the concert’s closing work, Mr. Berg’s “En Paz,” a setting of a poem by Amando Nervo. Built on an ostinato bass, which the composer told me “wanders,” its rhythmic and harmonic language delightfully reflects the poet’s Mexican heritage.
The other commissioned work was Scott Wheeler’s “Letters to Isabella,” settings for solo singer and piano of letters to Ms. Gardner. The first, from Henry James, was recitative-like while the second and third were rather cute settings of whimsical letters from the poet Paul Bourget and Ms. Gardner’s spiritual mentor, Kakuzo Okakura. This was followed another work by Mr. Wheeler, ”The Stairway of Jade,” a setting of a poem by Mr. Okakura. Both Mr. Berg and Mr. Wheeler are very kind to singers as they write idiomatically for the voice.
Care must be taken when putting together a program with a theme, because one is often tempted to choose pieces just because they fit the theme rather than for their musical merit. Of the eighteen works we heard tonight, only four are, in my opinion, of lasting musical interest. (I exclude the works of Mr. Berg and Mr. Wheeler because, as Zhou Enlai said when asked about the impact of the 1968 students’ riots in Paris: “It’s too soon to say.”) The others are ok, but four out of fifteen is not the ratio I look when attending a concert.
And as to the four works of lasting musical merit, the evening’s finest solos were Jesse Blumberg’s masterful performances of “Die Mainacht” by Brahms and “Im Abendrot” by Schubert, and Vira Slywotsky’s rendition with thrilling high notes of Debussy’s “Musique.” The concert’s highpoint was Monteverdi’s “Zefiro torna,” performed with verve and technical precision by Scott Murphree and Jesse Blumberg. No mind that it was too fast (the syncopations in the bass ostinato were not clear at the chosen tempo) and that Mr. Darling’s virtuosic continuo realization (in the transposed key of G flat!) was not quite baroque. This was memorable music making.
