On Tuesday, May 30, 2017 Tuesdays@Monk Space hosted a concert titled Vicki Ray and Richard Valitutto present New Song. Every seat was filled in the cozy Koreatown performance space with an audience looking forward to an evening of contemporary art songs from some of the finest musicians and composers in Los Angeles.
Four Elemental Songs (2014), by Vicki Ray was first and this consisted of four short movements based loosely on the natural elements of air, fire, water and earth. Elissa Johnston was the vocalist, accompanied by the composer at the piano. Luftpause, the first movement, began with a light, airy strumming of the piano strings that was soon joined by Ms. Johnston singing in German to create an alluring, mystical feel. The simple piano gestures involved just a few conventional key strokes, and Ms. Ray often reached into the piano touching or plucking the strings to achieve additional effects. Luftpause ended on a quietly gentle note, in great contrast to the strident opening of the second movement, Fire Song. Rapid trills in the piano plus the shifting and changing phrasing recalled the dancing flames of a fire. Ms. Johnston’s strong singing heightened the drama, perfectly capturing the powerful text by Susan Stewart.
Siren Song followed, adapted from a poem by Margaret Atwood, and based on the familiar myth of mermaids luring sailors to a watery death by beautiful singing. Ms. Ray again reached into the piano, producing an unexpected series of notes that sounded more like a harp or guitar. In fact nowhere in this movement were conventional keystrokes heard and the unorthodox sounds nicely complimented the mysteriously beguiling vocals. Siren Song was masterfully realized but equaled in inventiveness by the last movement, Pritam Basat, which began with a thumping, percussive effect in the lower piano keys. The rolling, rhythmic character of the music felt south Asian, in keeping with the Sanskrit text “My beloved dwells in the cave of my heart.” As the piano grooved along, forceful vocal passages arced overhead to provide a strong finish. Four Elemental Songs is a remarkable combination of extended piano techniques and solid singing that brings a fresh perspective to the venerable art song form.
The west coast premiere of kennen schon nicht mehr (2017), by Nicholas Deyoe followed and for this soprano Justine Aronson joined piano accompanist Richard Valitutto on the stage. Written for the performers and based on poems by Rainer Maria Rilke, kennen schon nicht mehr began with a simple descending scale in the piano, followed several quiet chords. This was soon supplemented with a bit of dissonance and a series of dark, thick chords that created a faint sense of the ominous. The vocal entrance by Ms. Aronson was deliberate, but subdued, matching the pensive tone of the text: “We don’t know what we spend: All that’s named is past and each being Invents itself at the last second And will hear nothing.” The words were sung in German, and this added to the expressive feeling as the piece proceeded along its somber path. About midway through a series of solemn piano chords in the lower register rang out like church bells, further darkening the mood, while sustained tones in the voice soared overhead with a beautiful combination of strength and fluidity.
As the piece concluded, the church bell tones returned, but with a more hopeful feel from a masterful adjustment to the original chords. “Now we wake up with our memory And fix our gazes on that which was: Whispering sweetness, which once coursed through us. Sits silently beside us with loosened hair.” kennen schon nicht mehr is ideally matched to the sentiment of the text, and to the formidable talents of the performers for whom it was written. Every nuance of language and music was expertly portrayed in this highly evocative work.
FAQs (2014) by Evan Ziporyn was next, and this world premiere was performed by Vicki Ray and tenor vocalist Timur. FAQs is a lighthearted look at the Frequently Asked Questions section of crowd-source funding websites, with their typical phrases such as “How does it work?” or “Where does my money go?” comprising the text. This begins with an active line of rapid piano notes filling the air with a busy and somewhat unfocused feel. The vocal line “How does it work?” enters with earnest straightforwardness, and is then repeated, but the accompaniment continues noodling along as if oblivious to the question. This musical disconnect perfectly captures the often unsatisfactory nature of website information, even as Timur’s questioning voice becomes more dramatic and insistent. Further questions follow: “Is this secure?” comes deliciously close to that unnerving uncertainty we have all experienced when shopping on-line. “Where does my money go?” provoked a chuckle from the audience from it’s obvious double meaning. FAQs is a skillfully balanced mixture of whimsically ardent piano playing and contrived operatic melodrama, all lightened by just the right amount of wit.
Two pieces by Ted Hearne followed. The first piece, I am Sick of Feeling (2017), is based on the poem Jakob by Dorothea Lasky and performed by Richard Valitutto with Justine Aronson. A series of simple repeating chords opens this, while the voice enters with evenly sung words and regular tones that completely drain all the energy from the text: “I am sick of feeling. I never eat or sleep.” A sense of heartbreak and emotional numbness filled this piece as it progressed, and although never boring, was appropriately featureless and flat in the articulation by both Valitutto and Aronson. Only a slight uplift in feeling was detected as this piece came to its quiet close. The heartache and sadness so strongly manifested in the text of I am Sick of Feeling was quietly realized in both the music and the performance.
For the second piece, Everyone Keeps Me, Vicki Ray took her place at the piano and the composer sang the baritone vocals. Based on a poem of the same name, again by Dorothea Lansky, Everyone Keeps Me is upbeat and expressive with lines like “And everyone keeps me from my genius Because genius is not human.” Hearne’s smooth singing and the strong accompaniment combined in this accessible and slightly bluesy piece that moved nicely along with an amiable groove. Everyone Keeps Me was ably performed and had all the energy and charm of a popular song – but without over-simplification or excess.
After an intermission, the balance of the concert program was given over to the daunting Got Lost (2007-8) by Helmut Lachenmann. Soprano Stephanie Aston and Richard Valitutto took the stage with the advantage of having performed this piece previously in 2015. The opening minutes are filled clicks, hissing, whooshes and other breathy sounds from the voice – ably expressed by Ms. Aston – with soft piano notes underneath. After several minutes, some humming, and a bit of whistling, marked the first musical sounds in the voice while Valitutto was kept busy employing a number of extended techniques inside the piano. Strings were strummed or plucked by hand as well as stopped, adding a significant percussive element to the texture. As the piece continued, the singing was at times very powerful, and Ms. Aston occasionally turned and issued a strong fortissimo note directed into the piano, activating the strings in sympathetic vibration. The close confines of Monk Space made these gestures especially effective, and the ghostly echoes were easily heard well out into the audience.
As Got Lost progressed, the singing became more musical and and the piano passages more complex and agitated. The dynamic control and strength of Ms. Aston’s voice was especially impressive given the wide variety of sounds and tones required. The piano playing was no less remarkable and with the various percussive elements in the score it often seemed as if Valitutto was playing two different instruments on the stage. The performers were both reading from the full score – and did not seem to need visual communication – yet successfully navigated the many layers and interweaving passages. As the piece built up to its conclusion, the tension and anxiety increased, with crashing tone clusters and a series of strong sustained notes in the voice at the finish. Got Lost requires a strong virtuoso effort on the part of both performers who did not disappoint, and their efforts were received with extended applause.
Based on the attendance and response to this concert, contemporary art song would appear to be thriving in Los Angeles.