Bronwen Forbay)Four gifted people presented a distinctly unusual programme. (Review by Michael Green)
One of Durban’s favourite daughters, the soprano Bronwen Forbay, who now lives in the United States, delighted a large audience when she made one of her regular visits to her home town.
The occasion was a Friends of Music concert at the Durban Jewish Centre and Bronwen appeared with three other musicians: her husband, the American tenor Randall Umstead; Ryan Prijic, American violinist; and Stephen Pierce, a South African pianist who is now a university teacher in the United States.
These four gifted people presented a distinctly unusual programme ranging from the early 18th century to the mid-20th. Much of the music was probably unfamiliar to most of the listeners but the artistry of the performers generated great enthusiasm in the audience.
Randall Umstead (tenor), with Ryan Prijic (violin) and Stephen Pierce (piano) opened with two splendid songs by Handel, from his Nine German Arias. Written about 1725, they were apparently popular in Handel’s time, being sung from hand-written copies, but, amazingly, they were not published until 1921.
Randall Umstead displayed a full, pure tenor, delivered with a pleasantly unmannered, unaffected style. Most enjoyable, and the violinist and pianist gave admirable support.
The two instrumentalists played an important part throughout the concert. They accompanied Bronwen Forbay in three beautiful songs by Richard Strauss: Standchen (Serenade), Morgen (Tomorrow) and Kling (Ring). These provided one of the high points of the evening, lovely singing and lovely delicate playing from the pianist.
The performers moved into little-known territory with As Dew in April, a reconstruction of 15th century music by the American composer Richard Cumming (1928-2009), and Four Songs for Soprano, Violin and Piano by the Englishman Arthur Bliss (1891-1975). All the works played were introduced with pleasant informality by the performers themselves, in brief comments that were instructive and amusing.
Massenet’s well-known Elegie for tenor, and two duets for tenor and soprano by Gabriel Faure completed the first half of the programme.
After the interval Bronwen Forbay gave a delicious performance of one of her favourites, the captivating Afrikaans song Kom dans Klaradyn by S le Roux Marais, and for good measure she added two other delightful Afrikaans songs by Marais and P.J. Lemmer.
Ryan Prijic and Stephen Pierce turned their attention to more serious matters with a fine performance of a fine work, Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, written in 1917, the year before the composer’s death. And finally we had all four performers in selections from Leonard Bernstein’s operetta Candide.
The Prelude Performer of the evening, funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, was Wesley Lewis, a clarinet student at the University of KZN. Accompanied at the piano by Jacques Heyns, he showed skill and assurance in playing Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet. - Michael Green
Posts
