Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Music Reviews

2022; Routledge; Volume: 79; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.53830/acnf4572

2769-4046

Kathleen Roland-Silverstein,

Diverse Musicological Studies

Music Reviews Kathleen Roland-Silverstein (bio) The first two song cycles reviewed here were created during a time of extreme social constraint, by American composers responding to unusually stressful times. Both found inspiration in prose and poetry, one from the memoirs of a beloved family member, and the other by the poetry of one of most sublime Spanish language poets of the twentieth century. The other collection for consideration is a first, a collection of operatic arias by Czech composers for the soprano voice, with a guide to Czech lyric diction. ________ Beal, Jeff. The Paper Lined Shack, for soprano and piano (voice/piano reduction, from version for soprano and orchestra). Text from the memoir of Della Holsinger (1881–1977), compiled by Joan Beal. 1. "Carefree Girl"; 2. "The Red Chair"; 3. "The Paper Lined Shack"; 4. "Our Garden"; 5. "My Heart." Duration 24'05". St. Rose Music Publishing Co. and Associated Music Publishing, 2019. I first heard The Paper Lined Shack, for soprano and orchestra, at the Eastman School of Music in 2021, sung by soprano Hila Plittman and conducted by the renowned Leonard Slatkin. The work was commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, in honor of Slatkin's fifty years with that orchestra. Texts for the five songs were discovered and curated by Beal's wife, soprano Joan Beal, herself a poet, while Jeff and Joan were moving and sorting through moving boxes. They are excerpted from the diary of Jeff's great grandmother, Della Holsinger (1881–1977), whose stories had been a part of Jeff's youth, shared by his grandfather Harold, Della's son. Della's writings were later given to the couple by Jeff's mother, Rosemary. The memories recounted in the libretto are simply told stories of life on an Idaho farm, where the young Della, widowed shortly after moving there with her husband Franklin, went on to raise their six children. Beal has created a marvelous series of musical images, effectively setting this sunlit chronicle with his unique musical language. The composer is a five-time Emmy winner, and enjoys a career spanning multiple genres, noticeably his symphonic, film, and television work. The list of his accomplishments include the film Pollock, with actor Ed Harris, the TV series Monk, and the Netflix series, House of Cards. Beal's symphonic and writing for the voice evinces a finely honed sense of timbre, tessitura, and text setting, fully on par with his other musical creations. The songs were written for soprano Hila Plitmann, whose voice is positively acrobatic in its ability to move with superb agility at stratospheric heights. They are a gift for any soprano undaunted by the tessitura and rhythmic challenges of the score. Beal has created a string quartet version, in addition to the orchestral and the piano/vocal score, and all three versions are marvelous. The range for the cycle lies between C#4 and D6, frequently traversing the upper passaggio and sustaining above the staff, often in the area of B5 or A5. The original orchestral version features a full complement of strings, woodwinds, two horns, vibraphone, and harp. In all three versions, Beal maintains a light, almost transparent texture, which allows the voice to soar and sparkle, and fully incorporates the colors of the original orchestral arrangement in the two other versions. The first song, "The Carefree Girl," with its rhythmic drive and large, swinging leaps, immediately evokes a feeling of play, and the frenetic activities of a happy childhood ("climbing, riding horse sticks, jumping rope"). The accompaniment throughout all the songs is frequently energized by an ostinato almost Baroque in its rhythmic vitality. The narrative arc is beautifully set in motion as Beal begins his great grandmother's recounting of what seems like an idyllic childhood. "The Red Chair" demonstrates his deft writing for the piano, and the ability to craft engaging solo lines and energetic accompanying figures that are traded seamlessly from left to right hand. The composer's use of hemiola and challenging rhythmic interplay are on full display in the titular third song. Beal describes the "maternal energy" that rounds off this setting, in which Della describes the last Christmas spent...