Reviews

Stephen Coxe Faculty Recital
February 8, 2022, Chandler Recital Hall
Review by John Campbell

It was good to be back in Chandler Recital Hall again after two years. To open the program, Three Sacred Songs (2002-10) by Stephen Coxe were sung by Anna Feucht with Coxe at the piano. Sung in Spanish, Esposa sets the text by Spanish mystic San Juan de la Cruz as a dialogue between the soul and the divine. Evoking a sense of deep, natural wonder, the song is beautiful, abstruse and delivered by a greatly accomplished singer.

William Blake used childlike images as metaphor, and posed deep questions examining the purpose and meaning of human life in The Lamb. The third song, Lilium Floruit, sung in Latin, is a dramatic interaction of powerful voice and piano. Both performers are at the top of their game in this 21st century setting of a 12th century text with its imagery of blooming lilies, and a shepherd who has cast out the serpent, “the mysterious cross has crushed the throat of the demon . . .” Coxe has written “More generally, I have taken these settings to reflect aspects of spiritual contemplation: renewal, mystical simplicity and exultation.” We found translations and notes for all the music in the program booklet.

The second piece was the second movement, Searching, from Sonata for Flute and Piano (2019) by Reena Esmail (b. 1983) with Wayla Chambo, flute and Coxe at the piano. The composer of this chamber work is based in Los Angeles. The music combines features of Western classical music with procedures found in traditional north Indian classical music, thus the Eastern sound offered. A delicate piano opening is in duet as the flute offers a sense of searching, a natural unfolding of beautiful improvisations. The repose found in a self assured flute is embroidered by the piano. The easy, relaxed feeling developed from the playful interaction offered a soft, buzz from the flute as the sound fades away. Very satisfying!

Then followed Socrate (1918), a sort of chamber opera created by French whimsical humorist and satirist Erik Satie (1866-1925). Satie created his own genre, writing this richly poetic and deeply reflective music “that rises to the heights of expressiveness and eloquence.” Soprano Bianca Hall offered the French recitative text accompanied by Coxe as pianist. The text, translated into French by Victor Cousins (1792-1867) is from Plato's Dialogues (c. 428 - c. 347 BCE). I Portrait of Socrates, II The Banks of the Ilissus, III Death of Socrates. The first performance was in Paris on February 14, 1920 with four voices and chamber orchestra. We followed along in our provided English translations of the story of Socrates and viewed the still pictures of paintings and sculptures projected on the wall behind the stage. The second section described an event from Socrates' life where he and Phaedrus search for shade where they can sit and chat. The projected pictures, columns of stone on sloping hillsides of open fields, two men in togas, and seaside glades of trees, illuminated the sung French text, helping us follow the narrative.

Bianca Hall communicated with her whole person, voice, hand gestures and facial expression as we viewed ancient ruins of simple dwellings leading to III Death of Socrates, expressing equanimity at letting go of his life. It was surprisingly moving to see a frieze of a recumbent figure with a picture of a classical bust of the great philosopher. Voice and piano collaborated to create the soundtrack of this moving experience. A repeat performance was promised for the near future.

After a pause of ten minutes or so we were off in a new direction—a wild ride into a chamber piece by György Ligeti (1923-2006), Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano (1982), intended as an homage to Brahms. Amanda Gates, violin, is the Governor's School for the Arts instrumental music chair and Virginia Symphony violinist. Stephen Slater, horn, is a musical nomad with world wide performance credits. He is currently on a one-year appointment as Virginia Symphony Fourth Horn.

The music makes a great demand on the performers and the listener as well; it is sheer audacity to ask listeners to follow unusual musical patterns like these. The horn trio is in four movements resembling older structures of chamber pieces but the raucous, rousing energy created was stunning.

Movement I Andante con tenerezza (moderately slow with tenderness) has a wide-ranging dialogue between the violin and horn, punctuated by comments from the piano until the music opens into a dramatic trio. II Vivacissimo molto ritmico (lively, very rhythmic) is a fleeting scherzo in perpetual motion with quirky, jagged dance-style rhythms and long melodic lines in the piano. The wild texture spun out of control, only to be answered by an ominous cadence.

III Alla marcia – Più mosso – subito Tempo primo (in the style of a march – more quickly – then suddenly back to the original tempo). The music is a grotesque parody march, complete with a horn fanfare to end, and in between is a dreamy waltz. Much of Ligeti's music is a wide departure from ordinary classical music as we know it and requires intense concentration by the players and the audience. In the last movement, IV Lamento Adagio, the violin plays a slow, mournful song, followed by descending step-wise “laments” in the piano and horn. Here, Ligeti asks the contemporary horn to create the “out of tuneness” of a natural (valveless) horn of the past; all this leads to a dark and terrifying climax. The burst of enthusiastic applause celebrated the success of such daring playing to make this piece work so well. It was a wonderful adventure.