Georgia Malcom, soprano; Michael Bell, tenor; Florence Stoertz, baritone; Juliette Mey, contralto. Sebastian Wybrew, piano.
This lunchtime song recital was very enjoyable
Led by Dame Felicity Lott and a distinguished French singer, Francois Le Roux. the Wigmore French Song Exchange brings together young artists of different nationalities to work on French song under the guidance of the aforementioned senior artists. A series of classes and workshops are followed by a final public recital
The songs chosen by the singers came from a wide range of late 19th century to mid 20th century repertoire including both Boulanger sisters and composers I’ve never heard of . Perhaps inevitably the songs I enjoyed were those of the major composers – Faure, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy, although I always have a soft spot for Reynaldo Hahn.
What was interesting to me, not having gone to many song recitals over the years, is how very important the non- singing aspects of a recitalist’s work are to put an audience at ease. The two Brits, George Malcom and Michael Bell, and the German Florian Stoertz had very fine voices and obviously from their profiles are already professional singers in demand; however, they were very stiff and uncomfortable looking on stage and didn’t look as though they were feeling their roles, or indeed enjoying themselves. By contrast, Juliette Mey – by the sound of it French and obviously with a head start in language – oozed so much more confidence on stage and threw herself into the mini– dramas of each song
What a nice way to spend an hour……
John's musical journey 