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Posted on Sun, Nov. 01, 2009 10:15 PM
Review | Delicate voice, lute portray English work
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In a world where bigger always seems to imply better, sometimes it’s important to remember that music can be a gentle and subtle art.
Dame Emma Kirkby, an English soprano legendary in early-music circles, and Swedish lutenist Jakob Lindberg demonstrated just how this can happen in a program called “English Orpheus,” performed Friday in the intimate Polsky Theatre at the Carlsen Center.
The program featured works by John Dowland and Henry Purcell, English composers in the late 16th and 17th centuries.
Kirkby’s delicate yet crystal-clear voice seemed a perfect match for the gentle sound of the lute. In the first half she sang works by Dowland, an artist whose melancholy strains earned the contemporary slight “semper Dowland, semper dolens” (“always Dowland, always sad”).
Kirkby portrayed the composer’s heartrending texts in works such as “Come Ye Heavy States of Night” with a rich palette of expressive musical techniques: dynamic contrast, a variety of tonal colors and crisp, effective diction.
The most impressive work of the night was Dowland’s “In Darkness Let Me Dwell,” Kirkby’s most emotional performance.
Lindberg proved to be a fine lutenist, with clear tone and technically proficient playing. His 10-string lute was built in the late 16th century, and he believes it is the oldest such instrument in playable condition with its original soundboard.
He seemed most effective when performing with Kirkby and occasionally had some problems with lute solos. The pavan “Lachrimae” (“Tears”) was beautiful, with heightened expressive ornamentation in each verse. The “Earl of Essex’s Galliard” was highly virtuosic but suffered an inordinate amount of unclear notes.
Dowland’s “Fantasia” opened with a lovely lyrical sound, but Lindberg suffered some technical challenges and a surprising number of clunkers.
Kirkby employed a somewhat fuller tone for the music by Purcell. “Fly Swift, Ye Hours” featured rapidly declaimed passages dispatched with care and precision by both performers.
“Music For A While,” to a text by John Dryden, was highly expressive due to the composer’s marvelous chromatic lines and the performers’ exquisite technique.
A review of soprano Deborah Voigt’s concert on Friday can be found at KansasCity.com/entertainment.
Posted on Sun, Nov. 01, 2009 10:15 PM
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