Henk Neven Marlin Christensson Wolf Brahms Proms

Introducing Dutch baritone Henk Neven! Listen to the chamber music Prom PCM3 and hear why he's hot. BBC New Generation Artists are plentiful these days, and some are sadly not very good. Henk Neven, though, is a discovery with genuine potential. 

Listen to the way he launches into four of Brahms's Heine Settings. He can be confident because he knows how to use his voice to make them work. What a bounce he puts into Es liebt sich so lieblich im Lenze!  The voice is weighty, yet leaps upwards, decorating the word Nachtigall so it flies, like the bird. He's a little more occluded for Sommerabend, but opens his chest, breathing well into Mondenschein. He's still young, and needs polishing but the basic material is there.

Neven's just won the major Dutch Music Prize and has the support of a Borletti-Buitoni Fellowship. BBC Young Generation Artists get maximum exposure, but other awards develop their abilities better. I first heard Neven in June 2008, as Frère Léon in Messiaen's St François D'Assise in Amsterdam, in the wonderful Holland Festival production, conducted by Ingo Metzmacher, which later that year came to the Proms.  There's lots on this site about this opera and composer, follow the labels.  Neven was the eager young monk who follows the saint around though he can't quite understand what makes him tick. Frère Léon is a demanding role, but Neven was so good I had no idea how young he was in real life.

Read more about Henk Neven on his very professional-looking website, which has audio samples. His agents are Intermusica (photo credit: Marco Borggreve).

Malin Christensson is also a BBC Young Generation Artist, getting top level exposure at the Proms. She's given recitals at the Wigmore Hall  and has recently recorded Werther with Villazon and Garanča, singing Sophie. Read more about her HERE on the Askonas Holt site (photo credit: Sussie Ahlburg).

At this Prom, she sang Alban Berg's Seven Early Songs, an ambitious choice, for even early Berg is an undertaking which singers grow into. Hugo Wolf's Italienische Liederbuch, however, is a gift for Christensson's light, airy charms. Here, she can sing the coquette in Auch kleine Dinge, stretching her lines playfully to emphasize how small her lover is.  She sings the cheeky last line doch eben nicht in dich from Du denkst mit einem Fädchen with lively spirit. Then O wüßtest du, where she negotiates the high tessitura."Der Himmel" indeed.

Listen to Hank Neven sing some of the more subtle songs, like Schon streckt' ich aus im Bett. The piano sounds deliberately insouciant, like a lute. But listen to the words, which have darker meaning.  Wolf's settings do favour the male voice for depth of feeling.  The encores were best of all, Christensson singing the witty Ich hab' in Penna, and Neven Ihr seid die Allerschönste. And Wolf wouldn't be Wolf without the wonderful piano commentary, ably played by Hans Eijsackers.

Because this year is the 150th anniversary of Hugo Wolf's birth, we'll be hearing more of the Italienische Liederbuch, but surprisingly Wolf isn't getting nearly as much attention as he deserves.

Pierre Audi's Amsterdam St Francis

Metzmacher's Messiaen St Francis came straight from Amsterdam, in an acclaimed production by Pierre Audi. Last year at the Holland Festival, Audi and Patrice Chéreau were talking about how to stage opera intelligently, so it grows from of understanding the music and the way drama evolves from it. Artistic works seem to take on lives of their own : the better they are the more levels to be found. There is no such thing as simply following the notes. Even when you read a score, you're "interpreting" how the notes affect each other, where the music is heading. So good opera staging is not so different from good musicianship. Both are means of bringing out insights into what things mean and how they work.

Messiaen, being a highly visual person, gave detailed descriptions of h0w he "saw" St. Francis. Part of his inspiration came from the frescoes of Giotto. Notice how Giotto's painting are simple and direct, yet totally unnaturalistic. No perspective, flat planes, images flowing impossibly in space. But then the "story" with its Angel, stigmata and ascension isn't literal.

In Amsterdam, what Pierre Audi did was immerse himself in the music and how it works. So no fancy strobe lights and projections (as Messiaen wanted) but an almost empty stage with only some black wooden crosses, jumbled in a thicket : representing the thicket of confused emotions. One monk sings J'ai peur, J'ai peur, a theme that recurs throughout. As God tells Francis, committment is hard work. (Another reason why the opera is so long - it's a journey, like a pilgrimage, not to be rushed. This is not music for quick-fix ! The black thicket of crosses also represents the life of the monks, simple, harsh and spartan. This also reflects the way the vocal parts are written in relation to the orchestral. The monk's lines are regular up and down cadences, like chanting, and never far from conversational tone. Monks don't do flamboyant : arias would be all wrong. Like the black crosses, their simplicity stands out against the mind bending panorama of colour that's in the music.

That's why Audi has the orchestra seated in on the stage occupying nearly all the space. Because
this is orchestral music of breathtaking beauty, in which voices play a part, not the other way round. At the back, the choir stands on stage, also fully visible. Messiaen wanted them hidden, but how do you hide 200 people ? In any case having them on stage adds to the overwhelming impact because they and the orchestra dwarf the singers. It also means that the Angel can materialise out of the choir, from high above the platform.

Messiaen also wanted the climatic section in which God appears to Francis, and the choir sings C'est moi ! C'est moi ! (same them as J'ai peur, they connect).to be staged with a huge cross rotating in different directions to blitz the audience. But listen to the music and it's all there anyway, multi-layered and multi-tempi'd, sounds flying off in different directions, seeking out the darkest corners opf the performance space. It's mind bendingly wonderful musical writing, so Audi didn't cover it. With 120 musicians on stage there's also plenty of shiny brass for lights to pick out.

Messiaen specifies that the Leper is covered in black and yellow pustules. So Audi shrouds him in a casing of Police Do Not Cross tape - he's dangerous, and everyone's scared to go near, including Francis. Perfectly symbolic, and it breaks open instantly, the moment he's cured, so he's instantly pure and clean - not easy to do with normal costumes.

Then the sermon to the birds. How do you get hundreds of birds into an opera house ? As Audi says, what do the birds represent ? Birds, said Messiaen, are fragile but they outlived the dinosaurs. Observe their ways and their songs, says St Francis, they don't communicate through words. So Audi uses colourfully dressed children who dart about/listen - visually lively and refreshing. A more minimalist setting might have worked too, but audiences do need a spritzer of colour that isn't only in the music. In fact the musical writing in this scene is so overwhelmingly gorgeous it is almost too much to take in neat.

Audi proves that opera staging doesn't have to be hidebound : it doesn't matter "what" a director does, as long as it's astute musically and dramatically. His Ring cycle for Amsterdam was astounding. Get the DVDs, especially if yoiu think you "know" The Ring. Siegfried is particularly good. The Holland Festival is brilliant - lots of different things, generally very high quality. What a buzz it must be to be part of it !

Messiaen St Francis Assisi Prom 70

The first two full reviews of St Francis of Assisi, Messiaen's masterpiece, Prom 70. Mark's is on boulezian, see link on right and mine is here

http://www.musicomh.com/classical/proms/2008-70_0908.htm

St Francis of Assisi is radically different from conventional opera, but that’s exactly why it’s exciting. This performance was so good that its 5 hours flew past in a blaze.

Metzmacher conducted this cast and choir in Amsterdam in June. In the staged production, by Pierre Audi, the orchestra was fully visible. The set was minimal, just a tangle of black crosses. This illustrates how the opera “works”. It’s orchestral music with voices, rather than the other way round. The monks sing in regular cadences, like chants, rarely far from conversational mode. Their lives are spartan, but around them, the orchestra creates glorious panoramas of light and colour. Like the monks, we can’t see Heaven, but can hear it in the music, and it’s all around, infusing the opera with exuberant spirit. Even by Messiaen’s standards, the orchestration is inventive, with unusual instruments and techniques, so the sounds are elusive, making you listen more acutely, which is, perhaps the message of the whole piece. There are three ondes Martenot, using the natural oscillation of sound waves to create music out of “empty” space. The Angel, too, materialises out of thin air. “Tu parles à Dieu en musique”, it sings, you speak with god through music. ”Entends la musique de l’invisible”. The orchestra played the Angel’s Viol music with such gossamer delicacy that it seemed to float, in an unworldly plane. Concepts too difficult to grasp rationally can be expressed obliquely through music. That’s why Francis tells the monks to study birds. They speak without words.

God himself speaks through the massed choir, in the mystical scene where Francis receives the stigmata. It’s a magnificent, multi-layered piece that’s very difficult to carry off, as Messiaen wanted to create the effect of light and sound flying forth in different directions and at different speeds, but Metzmacher achieved it, combining precise discipline with ecstatic, exuberant timbre. Moments like this show how much Stockhausen earned from Messiaen in terms of celestial vision, and the idea of sound moving through space.

Heidi Grant Murphy was the shimmering voiced Angel, and Rodney Gilfry sang St Francis. He sings for about 3 hours, and over a wide range, hovering like an interface between the monks’s cadences and the ecstasy in the orchestra. It’s heroic. This will be one of the high points of his career. Hubert Delamboye’s Leper was sung with vivid dissonance, suddenly soothed when Francis cures him with a kiss. The 200 strong choir were very well-prepared, singing extremely complex parts with perfect precision. Full honours, though, to Metzmacher and the Hague Philharmonic for vibrant playing that brought out the translucent glories in this highly original music.

There weren't many people at this Prom but those who were there were dedicated, Several curtain calls, as if going home might break the spell

Metzmacher on Messiaen St Francis

"Music is the perfect language for expressing ideas which can't be easily grasped", says Ingo Metzmacher. Metzmacher's whole career has focussed on how music, however new and unusual, expresses thought and feeling. His credentials are impeccable. Two years ago I met him at a reception. Everyone was fussing around Matthias Goerne, who was the star. Metzmacher was alone in a corner, unnoticed. "But you are a huge star, too" I asked. "That's OK", he replied, "It is the music that matters"

He conducted Messiaen's St Francis of Assisi in Amsterdam this year to great acclaim so Prom 70 will be special. It's six hours of mind blowingly glorious music (with intervals). But this isn't so much an opera in the usual sense."Yet that's the wonderful thing", says Metzmacher. "Messiaen is taking his time to explore ideas deeply. Nowadays life is so fast, and there's constant change around us. So Messiaen is like a wonderful harbour which gives us space to think." It doesn't really demand superhuman stamina from listeners. "Listen with open ears, open hearts and open minds" he adds. This music moves "like statues", he adds, which might not move themselves, but which move us as we contemplate them. "If you go into the countryside, into nature", he adds, "it's silent, and nothing much seems to happen, but there‘s a lot going on".

Metzmacher explains how St Francis works. Please see

http://www.musicomh.com/classical/features/metzmacher_0808.htm

Messiaen St Francis in Amsterdam

Here's a hilarious review of Messiaen's St Francis of Assisi in Amsterdam.

http://www.operatoday.com/content/2008/06/st_francis_in_a.php

A lot of it I think is getting into Messiaen's mind set. Once you slow down, the repeats repeats repeats are actually quite fun.

Messiaen and Chinese opera ?

Messiaen and Chinese opera ? But yes ! These last few weeks I've been listening to Messiaen's St Francis of Assisi and to the Chinese Kunqu Opera The Peony Pavilion. Maybe that colours my impressions. But think about it.

Messiaen writes humongously long pieces comprising of many episodes. So does Mu Dan Ting (Chinese for Peony Pavilion). Both can be appreciated in smaller doses. Traditionally in Chinese opera you can walk in and out, go eat (we're Chinese !!!!), whatever because you "know" the wider picture and can pick up. Similarly, most people "know" the gist of Messiaen's religious beliefs. Like the Stations of the Cross, you can focus on any one aspect at a time because you know the context.

Yesterday i was in Amsterdam t0 see the new Audi production of Messiaen's opera Francis of Assisi. All 6 and 1/2 hours !!! The first act's about philosphy. No action, plot etc just guys talking until the leper appears, like light relief. Maybe that's designed to drive away those who can't cope with ideas and want action at all costs. The next two acts are livelier so if you've past the test of the first, you're part way there. I dozed off in the first act as there was no air conditioning in the crowded auditorium and I'd drunk a bit of wine. But that, too, tells something about the frame of mind you need to elate to St Francis. You've got to get out of "normal" mode.

To a monk, 6 1/2 hours of contemplation is no big deal at all. So to get St Francis you have to get away from the frantic stressed out crazy world outside and enter monk mode. It's not that difficult. People lived less hectic lives in the past, and took their time. Same with Chinese opera. You don't need to grab it all at once. Dim sum, so to speak, small doses that build up.... Messiaen restructures the idea of time. Slow down, he says, and savour my dim sum, don't wolf it down and rush out. Useful lesson in life.

And of course the plot line. In Mudan Ting the heroine dreams about a lover and gets her portrait painted so when she dies someone might see her picture and think of her. Teenage death obssession long before emo and goths. So she promptly dies. But amazingly, the guy in her dream turns up and falls in love and takes her out of her grave. Where have we come across death and resurrection before ? Or the idea that love overcomes all ? St Francis doesn't get resurrected like Christ or like Du Liniang (the heroine) but his soul pops up off the deathbed and sings because he's found eternal life on another plane.....

Then the orchestration ! All that percussion, yet also the idea of silence, of small, expressive details that build up to a whole. And the sense of fluidity. When i was a kid, we used to play Chinese opera. As long as you had an idea of the plot and mannerisms, like hand movements amnd singing conventions, there was a fantastic amount of freedom and improvisation. We kids used to sing "Ai, yah yah...." and flutter about, our arms held in expressive angles while other kids beat time on their lunch boxes. Kunqu opera may be 700 years old, but it's a living art, with lots of freedom within form. Similarly, Messiaen writes formal notational scores, but gives a lot of interpretative freedom. Very idiomatic, Metzmacher's conducting. Even the ondes martenot and wind machine sounded beautifully integrated - no horror movie connotations here.