Leontyne Price Sings Barber - Beautiful Voice, Beautiful Music

2/19/11 – Leontyne Price Sings Barber

Born of what I feel. I am not a self-conscious composer.

- Samuel Barber

            I grew up as a singer with Barber, despite not knowing any of his music until I moved to Texas my junior year of high school.  Yet, as I never formally studied voice until that point, that’s kind of where the ball starts rolling.  I remember first encountering his song cycle “Hermit Songs” piecemeal, through various solo and ensemble competitions, first as accompanist, and then as a singer, starting with “A Monk and His Cat,” followed by “The Crucifixion.”  The latter of these I believe was in my audition repertoire for college of music acceptances.  The quirky lyrics and equally peculiar accompaniments intrigued me as a young and budding composer, which I’m certain was fueled by my voice teacher (who was married to the head of the composition department where I would shortly be studying.)  Regardless, this is the first time I’ve heard the collection as one unit.

            “Hermit Songs” is a 10 song cycle whose pieces are both clever and irreverent at times, but also beautiful and naturally flowing in their form.  And oh yeah, pretty short.  Four of the 10 songs are under a minute with the longest of them at under three and a half.  Price’s dark, rich dramatic soprano voice seems perfectly suited to them, and I actually think they may have been specifically written with her in mind.  (Price, with Barber at the piano, gave the premiere performance of the work at the Library of Congress.)

Like the oeuvre Carmina Burana, “Hermit Songs”’ text is taken from the musings of monks from the 8^th to 13^th century and translated by a number of Irish and English poets into modern English.  Unlike Carmina, of course, which remained in the Old Latin and other derivative, archaic languages originally written.  Ranging on topics from the monk’s playful relationship with his cat to the promiscuity of a forbidden woman, there are the occasional religious commentary as well, such as in the aforementioned “The Crucifixion.”  As a composer, Barber was a gateway into contemporary vocal composition; his tasteful use of cluster notation at times, unmetered vocalese, and expanded sense of tonality remain approachable but also outside of the common practice box.

The next few tracks on the album are not taken from an particular collection, but again feature Barber at the keyboard and Price’s luscious voice.  “Sleep Now” is a beautiful lullaby, and “The Daisies” a familiar piece… although Barber takes it much faster than I’ve ever heard it performed before.  Barber’s “Nocturne” is another beautiful piece, again stretching tonality and modality beyond where Chopin and his contemporaries too this particular form.  “Nuvoletta” is a bouncier thru-composed piece, very much in the vein of “A Monk and His Cat.”

“Knoxville: Summer of 1915” takes a different approach musically – Barber’s piano is replaced with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  The lush textures paint a portrait of the American South, and once again, Price’s vocal qualities are a perfect fit.  This “vocal rhapsody” with it’s shifting moods and emotions is followed by a pair of arias from Barber’s adaptation of Antony and Cleopatra, from when Price premiered the work with the Met in the titular soprano role.

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this album as much as I did – this is one I expected to listen to, write my way through something, and just move on.  However, the balance between simplicity of line and phrase paired with the complexity of meter, harmony, and other aspects just flow so beautifully and naturally in Barber’s vocal works presented here.  And once again, Leontyne Price’s amazing vocal work doesn’t hurt. J

Tomorrow – The Birth of the Cool (Miles Davis)

Next week – Bizet: Carmen