David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. Orchestra (Seat T103, $35).
Eun Sun Kim and Taylor Raven after performing the "Seven Songs" by de Falla.
Program - Elegant Impressions
Petite Suite, L 65 (1889, orch. 1907) by Debussy (1862-1918), orch. Busser (1872-1973).
Siete canciones populares espanoios (1915, arranged 1945) by de Falla (1876-1946), arr. Halfter (1905-1989).
Sinfonietta (1948) by Poulenc (1899-1963).
In the Program Notes, the orchestra's current music director Jonathan Heyward gives (some) credit to Louis Langree for the beautiful French sound of the ensemble. My own impression is that the orchestra certainly improved a lot during Langree's tenure, but I wouldn't be able to distinguishing the different sounds, be they German or French. We attended more than 10 Mostly Mozart events in 2018 and 2019, not one single piece was by a French composer (admittedly I took only a cursory look). Naturally I won't be able to say "this Mozart is performed with a considerable French flair to it," so Heyward's remark may be well above my level of appreciation.
In any case, it is an interesting program, if it's only for me to appreciate what a French sound sounds like. When it comes to French composers, the two that readily come to mind are Debussy and Ravel, and Poulenc if one tries hard. I may have listened to other Poulenc pieces before, but the only one I remember would be his opera about the Carmelite nuns. (The dramatic ending certainly helped sear the opera in my memory.) And the recent one-woman opera La voix humaine led by Hannigan. I had always thought Manuel de Falla to be a through-and-through Spanish composer, and he is. He connected with French composers during his stay in Paris from 1907 to 1914.
I am typing this about four days after the concert, and much of what I "got" is already gone. So let me go through them piece by piece, briefly.
The Debussy piece contains four movements: En bateau (by boat); Cortege (procession); Menuet; and Ballet. One could make the case for a boat trip (water is Debussy's specialty, after all), and can imagine what the procession is. The last movements then simply became standard ones with a French take on them. And I don't know what the French take is specifically. The piece lasts 13 minutes per the Progam.
Taylor Raven was the soloist for the de Falla "folk songs." The words, sometimes witty, speak of life and love. The seven pieces total 15 minutes, and supposedly represent styles from different regions of Spain. Here is the list: El pano moruno (the Moorish Cloth); Seguidilla murciana (Seguidilla from Murcia); Asturiana (Asturian Song); Jota (Jota); Nana (Lullaby); Cancion (Song); and Polo (Polo).
Taylor Raven ‘svoice came across well. We saw her in NJ Symphony's performance of Mozart's Requiem a few months ago.
Poulenc's Sinfonietta has four movements: Allegro con fuoco; Molto vivace; Andante cantabile; and Finale: Prestissimo et tres gai. Markings mostly in Italian, but with a French phrase (and very cheerful) thrown in. As with many first listens of Poulenc (I evidently have done a few), that's all I can say about it. At 29 minutes calling it a symphony would have been okay.
After performance of Debussy (first piece). The harp was used for all three compositions on the program.
This is the first time we saw Kim. She has been the music director of San Francisco Opera since 2021. Her directions seemed precise, and the orchestra responded accordingly. Perhaps the music didn't call for it, but the contrasts were not as big as what Heyward got a couple of weeks ago.
After the intermission we sat in the last row so we could make a quick exit after the concert concluded. We made the 9:23 train to return home.
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