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EARLY MUSIC
Vocal Beauties, April 26, 2002
|  By Kaneez Munjee
A sound which hovered in the room after each piece was over . . . a
gentle, sweet blend . . . ethereal harmonies, impeccable tuning . . . simply
beautiful: this was Anonymous 4 and Lionheart's offering Friday
at Stanford University's Memorial Church. The "Gods and
Mortals" of the program's title were in evidence in every piece on this
well-balanced program, a wide spectrum of music from
sixteenth-century master composers.
Anonymous 4 and Lionheart spun a silky web of sound which hung
delicately over them in the resonant narthex of Memorial Church. From the
first notes, the clarity of these ten singers' voices, their
sensitivity to blend and intonation and their technical skills
were clear. These two groups complement each other vocally — their voices balance well, they sing with similar pureness of tone, and the results appear effortless. They captivate their audience as they ornament their lines, move toward and away from dissonance, and glide from one crystal-clear harmony to the next, all the while never losing their intimacy of sound.
The disappointment of the evening was the lack of
engagement with the passion and drama of the texts which they sang. With
several selections from Dido's tragic story in the Aeneid, invocations of
dancing nymphs, and tales of love both successful and despondent,
Anonymous 4 and Lionheart had much scope for dramatic intensity. But
their delivery did not live up to the potential offered by Virgil and the
later poets. Dido's harsh words to Aeneas in Cipriano de Rore's
"Dissimulare etiam sperasti" and the skipping of the nymphs and satyrs in
Orazio Vecchi's "Saltavan Ninfe" sounded just as gentle and calm as the
peaceful sleep of Cloris and her lover's tender kiss in Claudio
Monteverdi's "Dolcemente dormiva."
Another moment in which what was offered simply tantalized was Vecchi's "Gioite tutti." Based on a dance, this piece exuded joy but did not dance enough. The few exceptions to this held-back engagement were led by Lionheart's Lawrence Lipnik, who strove too often on his own to draw the audience in through more than sound alone. The highlights of the evening came with many of the later pieces: Luca Marenzio's "Vieni, Clori gentil," a beautiful and charming echo piece effectively performed with half the singers offstage; Carlo Gesualdo's "Io parto," with its poignant story and harmonic complexities; and the final two pieces: Orlando di Lasso's "Res neque ab infernis," sung with more intensity than anything before it; and Marenzio's "Questi leggiadri," a piece which brought the program's theme in a full circle back to the nymphs and shepherds of the opening song The singers then offered a gay and lively, though unidentified, encore. Other moments of note included "Tirsi morir volea" by Andrea Gabrieli and "Calami sonum" by Rore, the latter sung by Lionheart alone with a more-full dynamic range than was found in most of the other pieces. It was novel and a pleasant surprise to hear so many lesser-known works by familiar composers, as well as works by lesser-known composers. Lionheart and Anonymous 4 succeeded in showing off the richness and beauty of the sixteenth-century musical treasure trove, but left most of its passionate depths to the audience's imagination. (Kaneez Munjee is a doctoral candidate in Musicology at Stanford University, a singer, and editor of the newsletter of the California Bach Society.) ©2002 Kaneez Munjee, all rights reserved |
