Lovely recital but a mish-mashed program.

Commissioned by and originally posted on Seen and Heard International here:
http://seenandheard-international.com/2018/02/a-marvellous-song-recital-by-baritone-benjamin-appl/

Song Recital – Benjamin Appl (baritone), Simon Lepper (piano), Experimental Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, 18.2.2018. (JSM).

Schumann – Widmung

Britten – The Foggy, Foggy Dew

Poulenc – L’offrande

Hahn – À Chloris

Grieg – Lauf der Welt

R. Strauss – Geduld

Mendelssohn – Auf Flügeln des Gesanges

Schubert – Seligkeit

                  Ständchen

Finzi – It was a lover and his lass

Britten – The Salley Gardens

Poulenc – La maîtresse volage

Wolf – Hoffärtig seid ihr schönes Kind

Grieg – Zur Rosenzeit

R. Strauss – Morgen

Wolf – Wir haben beide Zeit geschweigen

             Begegnung

Schumann – Du bist wie eine Blume

Brahms – Sonntag

R. Strauss – Du meines Herzens Krönelein

Vaughan Williams – Silent Noon

Schubert – Die Taubenpost

Brahms – Wiegenlied

Schubert – Erlkönig

Wolf – An die Geliebte

Schubert – Der Tod und das Mädchen

Loewe – Süßes Begräbnis

R. Strauss – Allerseelen

Grieg – Ein Traum

Schubert – Wandrers Nachtlied II (encore)

           

This Sunday afternoon recital in Mumbai by the young German baritone Benjamin Appl was a potpourri of songs in three languages and in widely-differing styles by various composers. These were loosely strung together as individual pieces rather than in groups, with the unifying concept of depicting a tragic love-story, or so we were told, but the idea was stretched too thin to be convincing. However, the sequence of songs, particularly in the programme’s second half, did not present too many musical jolts since most consecutive selections seemed matched in key, if not in kind. They were interspersed by explanations given by the singer, though mercifully these interruptions were few and not cloying.

The recital began with Schumann’s Widmung and this immediately presented the singer’s strengths and weaknesses. There was an innate musicality in everything he did, aided by prodigious breath-control and a wonderful sense of legato, also heard to great effect later in Mendelssohn’s Auf Flügeln des Gesanges. He did seem to have some difficulty in songs with a very low tessitura and, more often than not, his softer tones seemed to have insufficient breath-support thus lacking a certain roundness, for instance in Brahms’ Wiegenlied. However, dynamic markings of mezzoforte and above found him singing out with clarion voice and flawless attack.

Herr Appl excelled in expression. There was no doubt that he felt and understood the songs deeply; and spared no effort in conveying this to the audience. One might say he did, on occasion, over-interpret the songs; but never self-consciously. Better a little too much than too little. A prime example of this was Schubert’s Ständchen, which began with the singer taking expressive liberties with line and rhythm but ended with an unforgettable beglücke mich.

The concert’s highlights included Geduld and Morgen by Richard Strauss, the former sung with vivid word-painting, the latter floated magically with iridescent accompaniment by Simon Lepper. Erlkönig was given a powerhouse performance, the four voices clearly demarcated, with perhaps the most thrilling rendition of the words “so brauch’ ich Gewalt” that this critic has ever heard. However, Mr. Lepper was too loud in the early part of this song, nearly drowning-out the singer (the piano was kept wide-open throughout the recital) though elsewhere he was unfailingly sensitive and ideally supportive.

On the whole then, a marvellous recital and a Sunday afternoon well-spent. However, one wishes the organisers (the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai) had presented a more consistent and better arranged programme, rather than this mish-mash. Especially since the audience would applaud after each song, until the singer politely requested them not to!