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Old American Songs, New Jersey Festival Orchestra, August 2023
“The...diverse, folkish themes [of Copland’s ‘Old American Songs’] are drawn from 19th-century Americana songs, a far cry from the Italianate roles guest soloist [Stephen] Gaertner sings routinely on international opera stages. Fittingly, he shelved his rich, lustrous Verdian timbres for a creamier tonality with lyricism bubbling at the top. Clean diction and simple phrasing kept the performance naturalistic, with an interpretive style that felt more aligned with the art songs of German Lieder. The approach was particularly effective in keeping ‘Ching-a-Ring Chaw’ and ‘Long Time Ago’ — both based on minstrel tunes and ballads — grounded and tasteful. Other standouts included ‘The Little Horses,’ a children’s lullaby from the South, which brought out a delicate and sensitive lyricism. In ‘Zion’s Walls’ — a Revivalist song that Copland reused in his opera ‘The Tender Land’ — Gaertner used a ringing vibrato to reflect the deeply spiritual themes. The orchestra used painterly textures and colors to narrate Copland’s unique Americana, well balanced with Gaertner even in his most delicate treatments.”
(Courtney Smith, www.njarts.net, August 21, 2023) |
