Schubert's Valentine

A Good Evening of Schubert (and Other!) Lieder

Every so often we find a delightful musical experience that radiates with everything we might expect or want from a 19th century setting.  And such a time was had this last Valentine's Day at New York's Merchant's House Museum on 29th East Fourth Street.  A few weeks before the performance, a good friend of mine, Roz Gnatt, who would be singing this evening, told me about the event.  I promptly went and bought a ticket for the evening.  I found on the MHM website, the following information about the concert:

Love in the Parlors - A 19th-century Valentine in Concert

The Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society presents its best concert yet! Lush, romantic vocal music of the world's great 19th-century composers performed in the Merchant's House Museum's Greek Revival double parlors. Singers Anthony Bellov, Rosalind Gnatt, Jane Rady and Dayle Vander Sande perform music by Rossini, Schubert, Liszt, Gounod, Mendelssohn, Strauss, Amy Beach and more. Feel the love!

 

 

 When the time came for the concert, I went downtown, and found the old home not far from NYU.  A few folks were waiting in line, including a young French woman, who worked as a photographer, and who was in town visiting relatives.  We chatted a bit, before the line queued up some more, and then we all entered.  The interior was quite delightfully arranged and decorated, and the chairs for the concert set in short rows all the way to the back of the double-parlor that had been opened to accommodate the musical space and audience.  The concert was excellent, as each of the four singers took turns, in solo, or groups, to sing from the masterworks.  

This was an excellent chance to see how small operations of musical performance work, and work well in New York.  The crowd was intimate, and the singers performed with great skill and vocal acuity, from the Schubert to the Offenbach.  Enjoying the space with other individuals so attuned to music, but also attuned to the space that music occupies, and the interactions that go on there--that is the most meaningful aspect of these evenings.  Part of the charm of the Schubertiade style of chamber music, in its most central "chamber" sense, is the interaction and participation of individuals on a more human scale--not in the behemoth castles of modern day orchestral houses.  So, for us, excellent singing and song added to the greatness of this evening.

Well done, Euterpeans!