Bryn Terfel: ‘Songs and Arias’
GRCH New Auditorium, Glasgow - 02/10/22
Sir Bryn Terfel’s ‘Songs and Arias’ tour of the UK has been billed as an opportunity for the world-class bass/baritone and his fans to reconnect in a programme featuring his favourite songs and excerpts from his signature operatic roles. The Scottish leg of his tour drew to a close with a recital on the evening of 2nd October in the 600-seat New Auditorium of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. This was a change from the 2475-seat Main Auditorium, officially to afford a “more intimate” ambience, but undeniably because of disappointing ticket sales. The singer was accompanied by two virtuosic instrumentalists, his wife and former official harpist of the Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, Hannah Stone, and the pianist Annabel Thwaite. No printed programmes were available, so my thanks to the wonders of Google for helping me to fill in details absent from the engaging introductory remarks made by the performers.
Gerald Finzi’s cycle of 5 Shakespearean songs from the plays with piano accompaniment, ‘Let Us Garlands Bring’, opened the program, recalling the singer’s recording of 27 years ago with Malcolm Martineau and displaying from the start reassuringly undiminished (and, if anything, radiantly matured) vocal polish and expressiveness. Finzi’s take on ‘Who Is Silvia?’ from ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’, whose last line furnishes the title of the cycle, may not challenge the master Schubert, but it received the fullest advocacy with flawless diction (Terfel’s consonants are unrivalled to my ear), fabulous tone and intonation, powerful dynamic range and colourful expressiveness. ‘O Mistress Mine’ from ‘Twelfth Night’ was similarly elevated by exquisite teasing rubato and telling tenuto, to rival Quilter’s version and even Vaughan Williams’ choral setting.
Hannah Stone then introduced and performed an arrangement by blind Royal Harpist to Queen Victoria, John Thomas, of a Welsh traditional song, whose name I did not catch, but a little research leads me to hazard the guess ‘Bugeilio'r Gwenith Gwyn’ (Watching the Wheat). This was a lovely flowing lyrical melody ornamented with shimmering arpeggiation, in a performance pleasing to both eye and ear.
There followed a set of 8 songs, interspersing Ivor Novello songs from the shows with more traditional Welsh language songs, all equally ear-pleasing and accompanied variously by piano and harp. The amorous piano-accompanied “I Can Give You the Starlight” from ‘The Dancing Years’ (1939) was followed by the exquisite lullaby with harp, ‘Suo Gân’ (“Sleep My Baby”). Bryn wryly remarked that it had never made his own babies sleep. ‘We'll Gather Lilacs in the Spring’ from ‘Perchance to Dream’ (1945) benefitted from the sweetest harmonies in the harp accompaniment. ‘Ar Lan y Môr’ (‘Beside the Sea’), a traditional Welsh love song proposed by Bryn and Hannah for inclusion in Harry and Meghan’s nuptials but turned down by them, was accompanied by piano and I have to say the erstwhile royals missed a trick, as it was very lovely indeed. ‘Dafydd y Garreg Wen’ (‘David of the White Rock’), a sorrowful farewell to life by an ailing harpist bestowing his final blessing on his family, with a melody not unlike that of the Albinoni Adagio, had an extended and very moving solo harp introduction and finished with a ray of hope in the form of a Tierce de Picardie. ‘My Dearest Dear’, again from ‘The Dancing Years’, continued the romantic theme of the other Novello songs, while the hilarious ‘Her Mother Came Too’, a “celebration” of ‘gooseberries’ written for Charlot’s 1924 revue, ‘Puppets’, was delivered with a liberal helping of sardonic self-pitying wit and brought the first half of the concert to a humorous close.
Hannah opened the second half with a Basque dance with impressionistic episodes evoking the sound of running water.
The liquid theme was sustained for three Schubert songs related to water: ‘Liebesbotschaft’ (Love’s Message) from ‘Schwanengesang’ (Swansong), ‘Auf Dem Wasser Zu Singen’ (To be Sung on the Water) and ‘Gruppe aus dem Tartarus’ (Group from Hades). Bryn introduced these with reference to his hero, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and the hidden difficulties of performance which, to my ear, he has fully conquered. Annabel’s pianism and skill as an accompanist shone in these Schubert songs, especially in Gruppe, where the demonic menace of the piano writing echoes that in the more famous ‘Erlkönig’. So well-received were these songs, that Bryn offered “some more Schubert” and, following an enthusiastic cheer from the audience, introduced and sang ‘Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen’ (Litany for All Souls’ Day), a first time hearing for me, performing just two of the six verses, in emulation of his hero. This was unforgettable – long phrases with phenomenal breath control, exquisite positive pianissimo with undiminished German diction in the second verse, teasing tenuti at the turning of a phrase and time standing still at the end. In an evening of goodies, the Litanei was the highlight for me.
Hannah then returned to the stage to introduce and perform a favourite “borrowing” from the piano repertoire, Debussy’s ‘Claire de Lune’. This was glorious playing, with elegant rubato and great purity of sound evoking silvery liquid light.
The unifying theme for Bryn’s final set was ‘Stars’. Debussy’s ‘Nuit d'étoiles’, performed with harp accompaniment, was lyrical and bewitching. Brahms’ ‘Mein schöner Stern’ was devotedly romantic and expressive. The only aria of the “Songs and Arias” recital, ‘O du, mein holder Abendstern’, Wolfram’s ‘Song to the Evening Star’ from Wagner’s ‘Tannhäuser’, was then delivered in an arrangement for baritone, piano and harp. The same scoring was better suited to the Welsh favourite, ‘Ar Hyd Y Nos’ (All Through the Night), with the last verse sung in English. The set concluded with ‘Stars’ from ‘Les Misérables’.
Bryn’s encore, ‘If I Were a Rich Man’ from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, was as archly whimsical in both song and body language as I have seen, with piano playing from Annabel that was deliciously imitative of klezmer.
Hannah’s encore, Deborah Henson-Conant’s ‘Baroque Flamenco’, a feisty Spanish dance for solo harp with drum- and guitar-simulating effects was exciting, full of dizzying hemiolas and soundboard-slapping rhythms, performed with great gusto and virtuosity.
The evening of great music-making concluded with ‘Loch Lomond’ sung in Scots with full audience participation.