the songs of Reynaldo Hahn on the London Music Competition

Age 19, Hahn started a two-year relationship with Marcel Proust (then aged 22), which might be one among Proust’s few developed relationships. They remained mates and collaborated on Portraits de Peintres, a piece for reciter and piano that will be intriguing to revisit right this moment. To offer an concept of fairly how inbred the entire ethos of the inventive circle was, Hahn’s alternative in Proust’s affections was Lucien Daudet, Alphonse Daudet’s son.

Hahn wrote round 100 songs, most of which date from the interval 1888 to 1918, and few date from after 1910, as society was altering and he discovered much less demand for songs with piano and his compositional energies have been extra dedicated to his theatrical works, his music theatre works (opera, operette, musical comedy) quantity some 15 or so, with a number of ballets as properly.

Nigel Foster’s programme focused on the favorite songs, including a couple of novelties however 1906 was the latest of the songs, although the night ended most delightfully with the duet, La Derniere Valse from a 1926 musical comedy. You are feeling that the twentieth century Hahn is likely to be value investigating; in 1915 he set English texts in 5 Little Songs with verses by Robert Louis Stevenson and his remaining tune cycle, Chansons espagnoles dates from 1947, some 59 years after his first songs.

Foster divided the programme into thematic sections. Wishes: Fêtes galantes, Les cygnes, Wishes and Love: À Chloris, En Sourdine, Quand je fu pris au pavilion, Si mes vers avaient des ailes, Love and Demise: L’énamourée, Trois jours de vendange, Evening: L’heure exquise, La Nuit, Lovers united in demise: Dernier voeu, Three Cities: La Barcheta, Seule, Encor sur le pavé sonne mon pas nocturne, River and Sea: Dans la nuit, Quand la nuit n’est pas étoilée, Sur l’eau, Paysage, Autumn: L’Automne, Chanson d’Automne, The Passing of Time: D’une jail, Fleur fanée, La Derniere Valse.

Given the early age at which among the songs have been written, Hahn had fairly refined literary tastes and tackled some very complicated topics. His setting of Verlaine’s L’Heure Exquise was accomplished when he was 16, while one other Verlaine setting, D’une jail dates from when Hahn was 18. Clearly teenage Hahn loved an excessive amount of angst, imaginings of need, demise and unattainable love. Whether or not this was real or an assumed angle is an attention-grabbing level, he was singing in salons when he was six, his friendship with Alphonse Daudet started he was simply 16.

Our two singers alternated the songs, becoming a member of collectively for Dernier voeu on the finish of the primary half, and La Derniere Valse on the finish. Maria Schellenberg had a wealthy, darkish mezzo-soprano voice and she or he introduced outstanding depth to the songs, but she might lighten the textures too. She displayed a stately appeal, and her characterful performances have been illuminated by her histrionic abilities, she just isn’t a singer to easily stand and ship. Face, physique and arms with lengthy nails have been all introduced into play and every tune turned a mini-drama; L’énamourée and Dnas la Nuit turned positively operatic of their supply.

Lots of Hahn’s songs characteristic memorable however not elaborate vocal strains over a transferring piano, however Schellenberg’s performances weren’t merely in regards to the music. In a tune like À Chloris, she was not content material to easily take pleasure in the great thing about the melodic line. She gave consideration to the phrases, making every tune a mini-narrative. She featured as a considerably heavier voice than I’m used to in La Barcheta from Venezia which I first heard sung by a lyric tenor, however she made the tune extra constantly seductive. Encor sur le pavé sonne mon pas nocturne was a very outstanding tune, the voice nearly a monotone, written in 1901 its darkness was extra complicated than the attitudinising in some.

Jack Holton displayed a darkish, nearly chestnut toned voice and his wealthy sound gave a gravity to his performances, and lots of of his early songs within the recital featured a few of Hahn’s minimal melodies, to which Holton introduced gravitas and depth, together with an actual feeling for the sound of a French baritone.

 In order that the calm line if En Sourdine was rendered profoundly expressive, and the opening of Si mes vers avaient des ailes had a sober solidity to them, earlier than shading into actual ardour, while Trois jours de vendange ended on a sober, however profoundly expressive monotone with bells within the piano. La Nuit featured a richly expressive sense of darkness and the tune was written when Hahn was simply 17. In his remaining solo of the night, Chanson d’Automne Holton drew on a vein of seductive melancholy in what’s a fairly haunting melody.

The performances made us realise that Hahn’s songs are way more than a responsible pleasure and that there’s a outstanding sophistication of their obvious simplicity. I might maybe, have favored a component of grit to the combo, however then Hahn did not actually do grit, did he?