Edinburgh and Munich: Songs of Two Cities
New Town Church, George Street, Saturday 29th June 2024
Edinburgh and Munich: Songs of Two Cities - Jennifer Witton (Soprano), Ben-San Lau (Piano)
The New Town Church, formerly St Andrew’s and St George’s, was well-filled for this Saturday afternoon recital, arranged by the German Consulate General in Edinburgh, and promoted by Ian McFarlane Productions, to celebrate 70 years of the twinning of Edinburgh and Munich.
These two great cities were paired after WWII in a spirit of peace and friendship, and the partnership has been a successful one. Sharing many qualities, these two capitals of formerly independent kingdoms can boast a rich heritage and tradition, and this cultural event, coming in the middle of a big European football competition, was a timely one. The sporting failure of the Scottish team has been overtaken by the triumph of the wonderful Scottish fans, who endeared themselves to the Germans in a hugely positive way. The phrase, No Scotland, No Party, seems to have infiltrated into the consciousness not only of the German public, but throughout Europe, and some of the bitterness of Brexit has been soothed.
It is nonetheless ironic though, that the thirsty Scots fans who emptied many barrels of Bavarian beer should have come from a city like Edinburgh with a long history of brewing, which now boasts only a small micro-brewery. Similarly, this cultural exchange today highlights the paucity of Scottish high culture vis-a-vis the German situation. Munich boasts two world famous opera companies, three symphony orchestras and two chamber orchestras, all publicly subsidised, while Edinburgh has the, admittedly excellent, Scottish Chamber Orchestra. That’s the sum of modestly funded classical music in Edinburgh. Elsewhere in Bavaria, a state equivalent to Scotland, there are opera companies in several cities and the annual Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, amongst a myriad of other cultural events and organisations. The biggest news in Scottish culture at the moment seems to be about funding cuts!
Still, we were able to relax and enjoy an excellent recital at the New Town Church, a really splendid venue for a song recital, with good sight lines and a fabulous acoustic. I have sung here many times and always enjoy the aural possibilities the acoustic gives to singers, and today’s performers, the British soprano, Jennifer Witton and the Manchester-born pianist, Ben-San Lau, made excellent use of the space.
The programme was built around the close association of Robert Louis Stevenson with Edinburgh and Richard Strauss with Munich, and so featured Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel, interspersed with some gorgeous songs by Strauss. As an added bonus, we heard two French songs by Reynaldo Hahn, translated from Stevenson’s ‘A Child’s Garden of Verses’. To give Ms Witton a break, Mr Lau played some attractive piano pieces, also by Hahn.
I felt a close connection with much of the music, as I have sung and recorded the Songs of Travel (available on Birnam CD) and worked closely 40 years ago with the great Hans Hotter, who knew Richard Strauss personally, and created several of his operatic roles.
It was obviously quite strange for me to hear the Vaughan Williams songs, originally written for baritone, at a stratospherically higher range than I am used to, and, well as they were performed by our artists today, I’m not sure that they work for a female voice. They seem so well written for baritone or bass, that I am not even convinced by a tenor singing them. However, Ms Witton has a lovely voice, and has very good diction, so we were able to hear Stevenson’s evocative words clearly.
The Hahn Stevenson songs were new to me and were delivered in good French and charming style. Reynaldo Hahn de Eschenagucia was born in Caracas, Venezuela, but moved to Paris as a child, soon moving in prominent artistic circles with the like of Sarah Bernhardt and Marcel Proust. He was prolific as a composer, writing over 100 mélodies, and died in 1947, soon after being appointed Director of the Paris Opéra. His music was neglected after his death, but has made something of a revival, and his songs are more often performed these days. Ms Witton made a good case for his compositions, and the piano interludes played by Mr Lau displayed a charming style, typical of early 20th century French music.
Richard Strauss was another long-lived composer, who never compromised his wonderful sense of harmony, faced as he was by the onslaught of serialism and twelve tone technique in the early years of the 20th century. He wrote over 200 songs, many specially composed for soprano voice, and it is fair to say that he composed some of the most sumptuous music for soprano ever written. The songs chosen by Jennifer Witton for this recital gave a kaleidoscopic overview of Strauss’s talents in this genre, and she was fully able to entertain us with the passion and wit of her singing. The winner of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Gold Medal (a feat beyond me in 1981!), she is clearly on the cusp of an excellent career, with appearances at Glyndebourne and Longborough, and possesses a voice of great flexibility and control. In the bigger Strauss songs, she allowed herself to indulge her voice more than at other times, and I would advise her to go with that strand. I feel that there is a bigger voice hiding within, which she could well indulge more often. When she sang the big high notes in Cäcilie and Zueignung, I could hear the latent power of the instrument. She is still young, and shouldn’t push her voice, but I suspect she will go beyond roles such as Adina and Gilda!
Ben-San Lau was a most attentive accompanist, with a lovely subtle touch. The gossamer piano part of some of the Songs of Travel was beautifully realised, and yet he could give good support to some of the weightier Strauss songs.
Their last song, ‘Beim Schlafengehen,’ the third of Strauss’s Four Last Songs from 1948, was superbly played and sung, and brought an excellent recital to a fine conclusion. The concert was given in the presence of several dignitaries from both cities, including our Lord Provost, Robert Aldridge, splendidly arrayed in his ceremonial glory.
Long may the twin cities flourish!
