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Canberra Today 17°/20° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Review / ‘Heart-wrenchingly beautiful’ moments in Artsong concert

Christopher Lincoln Bogg
Christopher Lincoln Bogg
FOR featured tenor, Christopher Lincoln Bogg, this song recital, accompanied by pianist, Alan Hicks, was something of a retrospective drawn from his extensive repertoire, which covers lieder, opera and music theatre.

Even so, it did include something new, “Godfrey in Paradise”, from “Shoalhaven Lieder” by American-born Australian composer, Lee Bracegirdle, written just last year. Bracegirdle was in the audience for their assured performance of this rather complex song from a work that is about life, love and death.

For the sizable audience, this recital was a thoroughly enjoyable journey through more than 150 years of music- and text-writing.

The earliest selection was a group of three songs from Franz Schubert’s “Die schöne Müllerin”, from 1823, using the poetry of Wilhelm Müller. From Austria we toured to Germany (Robert Schumann), France (Maurice Ravel) and England, with a song by William Shield, arranged by Benjamin Britten and a simply gorgeous set of songs by one of the most revered English composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ralph Vaughan Williams.

The second half saw a dramatic change in the style of songs, all written in the 20th and 21st centuries, including “Godfrey”, mentioned earlier. There were three traditional songs given a decidedly Jamaican treatment by the Australian composer Arthur Benjamin (famous for “Jamaican Rhumba”), including “Song of the Banana Carriers” perhaps better known as “Banana Boat Song” and made famous by Harry Belafonte.

As well, there were songs by William Walton, another greatly respected English composer, and one by a compatriot, Frank Bridge.

Throughout the program, Christopher Lincoln Bogg delivered highly assured singing, creating wonderful expression with excellent diction and certainly displaying his quite big vocal range and his remarkable ability to change into different styles of singing. There were times when the really soft sections did not seem to have enough air behind them with a loss of clarity, pitch accuracy and vocal vibrato. On a couple of times he seemed actually to run out of breath. But these were only tiny blemishes in an otherwise very stylish performance.

Of course, Alan Hicks was masterful at the piano; he was beautifully understated in his accompaniment, never overshadowing the singer but at all times expressive and supportive. We are very lucky to have such a fine musician. Art Song Canberra president, Oliver Raymond, very fittingly presented both Hicks and Phillipa Candy, another remarkable accompanist, with life membership.

But for me, the highlight of the recital was the group of four songs from the pen of Stephen Sondheim, including two favourites, “Losing my Mind” and “Send in the Clowns”. It was in these songs that Christopher Lincoln Bogg really shone. His performances were quite simply heart-wrenchingly beautiful. There was passion and tenderness, power and gentleness in every word, and it seemed each note was given its own very special treatment to ensure the full import of the composer’s intention was delivered.

After the last song, Bridge’s “Love went a-riding”, these two fine artists were given extended applause. They rewarded the audience’s enthusiasm with a very attractive encore – an arrangement of the traditional folk song, “Down in the Sally Gardens”.

 

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Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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