On Sunday, December 15 at 7:00 p.m. Lucy Shelton performs a ‘tasting menu’ of 20th century songs at National Sawdust (80 N 6th St, Brooklyn, NY). Tickets available here. This is a special opportunity to hear Shelton perform an entire recital of works that made her the legendary soprano she is. In advance of the show, presented by Chris Grymes’ Open G Series, here’s what the legendary soprano has to say about the menu.
When first asked to bring a program of mostly twentieth-century song to National Sawdust, I was flooded with sound-bites of Carter, Babbitt, Wuorinen, Schwantner, Harbison, Mamlok, Cage, Stravinsky, Ives, Rochberg, Baley, Druckman, Persichetti, Hindemith, Goehr, Henze, Knussen, Messiaen, Gideon, Laderman, Kohn, Rorem, Del Tredici, Albert, Primrosch, Crumb, Benson, Britten, Dallapiccola, Rehnqvist, Saariaho…to mention just a few, ha!! Gracious me — how on earth could I ever make the choices? But with the help of a few discussions and reading sessions with Jeremy Gill, tonight's program began to find its focus. Putting it into a MENU format gave me the opportunity to play with grouping the many short works into meaningful juxtapositions as follows:
AMUSES BOUCHES
Here are the “teasers” to the meal. Stravinsky’s Pastorale is a vocalise, with a charming open-air feel, which I sing as an invitation to join me in tonight’s event. It is followed by two works which signal that this program does not shy away from the unusual: John Cage’s unique work where the pianist never plays on the piano keys, but only on the lid and the frame; and the first of the George Rochberg selections, Black Tulips, where the pianist plays inside the piano as well as on the muted keys. The vocal writing is mostly “non vibrato” which adds to the eerie sound world of the piano writing. With Stravinsky’s Counting Song we are abruptly reminded of the “normal" piano sound, with repeated notes and glissandi, which underscores the simple setting of the lyrics (a traditional nonsense rhyme for a children’s game). I get to shout at the end - but the pianist gets the last word, playing a sweet refrain.
SOUPES
In this set the tastes become more emotionally complex. Stravinsky’s Spring (At the Cloister) is the longest song of his output [a total of 19 songs - all of which I recorded, paired with Elliott Carter’s complete songs, in 1997 on a KOCH International Classics CD no longer available] and offers time to reflect on the scene at the monastery. The ringing of bells is brilliantly depicted in the piano writing preceding the daughter of the bell-ringer’s heartfelt confession of unhappiness. The following sequence of Rochberg songs (with texts by his son, Paul - who cut his life short) opens with a defiant “I am baffled by this wall”, a more contemporary look at unhappiness. Spectral Butterfly and All my life are miniatures packed with coloristic detail for both singer and pianist. In the closing Sacre du Printemps all boundaries are removed, allowing primitive energies to be fully expressed - picture the ballet!
SALADES
Calm is restored with Elliott Carter’s Voyage. [My first performance of this was in 1972 when studying with Jan De Gaetani at Aspen.] There is a nobility and tenderness in this setting of Hart Crane which I find comforting. But not wanting to get too serious just yet, it is followed by Stravinsky’s very last song,The Owl and the Pussy-Cat, written for his wife Vera in 1965. The charming text is set in 2-part counterpoint with the piano always playing in octaves, resulting in a sophisticated simplicity. Another animal song, Pig is by Karl Kohn, [the composition faculty member at Pomona College when I studied there]. This animal reference has to do with a need to lose weight, or else be compared with the sacrificial pig at the Catalan St. Martin’s Day feast! The final song is also from Kohn’s Resplendent Air, [a cycle of 5 songs dedicated to me], and is a sublimely delicate setting about women sleeping.
ENTRÉES
And now for the protein course! Jacob Druckman’s The Season of Time was a Naumburg Foundation commission written in 1964. I suspect that the piano part was considered un-playable, because Druckman orchestrated it immediately and it has only been heard in that version since. [I believe this performance will be only the second performance of the soprano and piano original! My copy of the score (unavailable from the publisher) was from my mentor Jan De Gaetani’s library, and has beckoned to me since the 1980’s.] It is a spectacular continuous song cycle inspired by nine short segments of Norman Mailer's only book of poetry. The Two Ricercare by Ruth Crawford which follow are also rarities seldom performed. [I recorded them in 1997…] They are settings of political protests written by a Chinese immigrant in 1931 which Crawford read in a newspaper. They are hard-core in both text and music, being aggressive soap-box fare. The messages are clear, and important to hear...
DÉSERTS
Sweets are needed at this point in any meal, but especially after such a hearty main course! The Miriam Gideon miniatures gently bring thoughtful texts to life after which the sensuous Love’s Call by Shulamit Ran serves us molten chocolate cake! [This work was a 2016 commission from SongFest.] And finally we come full circle back to Stravinsky and childhood, with a hushed lullaby and Three Children’s Songs- all about birds. I hope you are not over-stuffed, and found pleasures in this feast of song!!