Talisker Players: High Standards with Virginia Hatfield (soprano) James Levesque (baritone). Trinity St. Paul’s Centre –Sunday, January 10, 2016.
As a classical music lover through and through, I do confess to having a soft spot for American pop songs of the past, from Porter and Gershwin to Bernstein and Sondheim, the so-called golden age of the American Songbook. Far from being lightweight material, these songs arguably define Yankee Culture of a certain era, just as operettas by Johann Strauss and Franz Lehar are evocative of the 19th Century Mitteleuropa.
As a genre, the best of the American Songbook are brimming with gorgeous melodies and impossibly clever lyrics, penned by master songwriters, all keen observers of the American psyche, adept at wringing every last ounce of emotion from the listener. An afternoon of these Old Standards can be quite a winter tonic. With the imminent wintry conditions about to hit Toronto yesterday, what better way than to stay warm and cozy inside for a rendition of “Stormy Weather,” the Harold Arlen torch song?
Talisker Players, a chamber group with a mandate of fusing words and music, has been presenting an evening of popular songs for the last three seasons. Cellist Laura Jones, a member of TP, is in charge of preparing the arrangements for string quartet. This group has already presented songs by Noel Coward – okay he’s a Brit, but I digress! – Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. This season, instead of focusing on a single composer, we have selections from the American Songbook – works by Jerome Kern, Rodgers & Hart, Lerner & Loewe, George & Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Harold Arlen.
I attended the first of two performances on Sunday. The soloists were soprano Virginia Hatfield and baritone James Levesque. It’s tricky – and often not terribly successful – for a classically trained singer to tackle pop – just listen to the many pop recordings by opera singers! The operatic voice is simply too grand for this material. Not to worry – both Hatfield and Levesque have the kind of voice suitable for both the opera stage and Broadway. And I was absolutely delighted by their excellent diction, something that isn’t always the case! It’s often said you can’t hear the words when a soprano sings high. Well, the tessitura of these songs is sufficiently low, so that Hatfield’s solid middle voice was able to do these songs justice. The infrequent opportunities when she sang high, the voice rang out beautifully, complete with a honeyed high piano, as in “Summer Time.”
Elsewhere, I enjoyed her “I Could Have Danced All Night”, and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair.” Her clear diction allowed most of the words to come through in “I Can Cook Too” though thankfully nobody snickered at the more risqué words by the incomparable lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green! I love this Bernstein song, particularly that recording by the late Evelyn Lear. Hatfield sang it really well.
Levesque has a more unusual voice, a high baritone almost bordering on tenor. In fact, I find that he seems to sing with two different voices. Some of these pieces are scored for tenor – such as Sporting Life’s “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, while a few are for baritone, like “If Ever I Were to Leave You.” I was quite amazed that he was able to do the highs without any sign of strain, such as in “Lonely Town,” and he interpolated a high ending for “Edelweiss,” In fact, the voice sounded more comfortable up there. In the lower reaches, he sometimes under-projected and the words got swallowed. His duets with Hatfield brought a chuckle to the audience – particularly “People Will Say We’re in Love,” but especially the subtle yet very funny “You Must Meet My Wife.”
Vocally both did well, with Hatfield being particularly idiomatic in this material. That said, I would have liked a bit more energy and less stiffness on stage from both, especially in the first half. Hatfield was the livelier of the two, with Levesque looking very stiff in his stage manner. They both relaxed a bit in the second half, but I still feel this material requires more pizzazz, more oomph, more “swing”, to bring it fully to life. To be fair, the venue may have something to do with it – it’s not easy to sing show tunes in a converted church on a Sunday afternoon!
To my ears, perhaps another reason is the use of a string quartet. Much of the arrangements Laura Jones did were lovely, bringing out plenty of subtleties and nuances inherent in the music. The quartet played with enviable musicality. Her arrangements worked very well in the quieter, more contemplative songs, such as “Send in the Clowns” gorgeously sung by Hatfield. But I have to say, for the upbeat, fast, high-energy numbers, I miss the presence of a piano. To my ears, the addition of a piano to the quartet would have made a huge difference. Perhaps we’re conditioned to hear this material sounding a certain way, in a certain ambience, a certain venue. Ultimately, it boils down to the music itself, and these songs are immensely satisfying. This TP concert was a different and interesting experiment that’s well worth hearing. You can catch the second show on
You can catch the second show on Tuesday, Jan. 12 8 pm at Trinity St. Paul’s Centre.
#LUDWIGVAN
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