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alternatively
CD: Crotchet
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David GARNER (b.1954)
Phenomenon
Spoon River Songs for mezzo and piano (1987-2004) [16:30]
Viñetas Flamencas (Flamenco Vignettes) for tenor, wind
quintet and piano (2000) [27:26]
Fireflies and Willows, Three songs on poems by Japanese
masters for soprano, baritone and piano [20:21]
Phenomenal Woman for soprano and piano (2004) [15:44]
Susanne Mentzer
(mezzo), Francisco Araiza (tenor); William Stone (baritone),
Stephanie Friede (soprano Fireflies and Willows); Lisa Delan (soprano Phenomenal
Woman)
Kristin Pankonin (piano), Linda Lukas (flute), Jonathan Fisher (oboe), Ben Freimuth
(clarinet), Steve Paulson (bassoon), Robert Ward (horn Viñetas Flamencas).
rec. Skywalker Sound, Skywalker Ranch, California, November 2006
PENTATONE CLASSICS PTC5186 301 [80:01] |
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Another new name to add to my growing list of recent discoveries, David Garner
has taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 1979. Working in
a tonal idiom, his music exists well outside any of the ‘avant-garde’ styles
which might have brought him to our attention sooner than now via the more usual
contemporary music circuits, but his beautifully crafted pieces certainly deserve
attention, and will hopefully receive such as a result of this Pentatone release.
The Spoon River Songs plunge us straight into the comforting heartlands
of Copland and early Americana, the poems of Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon
River Anthology leading Garner to create character pieces which fit snugly
into Midwest landscapes both social and topographical. The range of emotions
in the texts are reflected admirably in the music, from the flighty Lucinda
Matlock to the poignant Charles Webster. My only doubts are in the
use of a mezzo-soprano for pieces of this kind. Susanne Mentzer has a wonderful
voice, but fills straightforward notes and messages of directness and clarity
with an all-pervasive operatic vibrato which quickly becomes irksome. Perhaps
the voices of each character would be better served by different singers, or
at least, one which can give the impression of some kind of contrast between
each.
The Viñetas Flamencas are six poems by Federico Garcia Lorca which
represent aspects of the flamenco - that colourfully artistic music, song and
dance from the southern provinces of Spain. Impeccably played by a wind quintet
of members of the San Francisco Symphony, and with the piano also functioning
on occasion as a flamenco guitar, Garner has created some delicious music in
these songs. Some of the vocal gestures are a bit hammy, and in general the mixture
of ‘modern’ classical and traditional Spanish result in something
a bit too heavy to really “transport the listener back to those turn-of-the-century
days in Spain, with the smoke-filled taverns, the swaying skirts of the dancers…” The
little episodes of clapping in Café Cantate show how difficult
it is to get that kind of thing just right - even the slightest unevenness giving
the lie to listeners used to the real thing. This however takes little away from
the fact that these are highly enjoyable pieces on their own terms. The central Lamentacion
de la Muerta for instance is a moving chorale which shifts the mood very
effectively, and the dramatic final Conjuro undulates and unfolds with
a driving power which is quite compelling.
Fireflies and Willows is a set of three songs by Japanese poets. Garner
describes how he “developed a musical language of bird songs, water, wind,
and other elements of nature, intertwined with the Japanese classical scales… and
other pentatonic harmonies.” Some of these elements work well enough, but
my comfort zone is tested when “there is some ‘impressionistic’ text
painting… ‘expressionism’…” The music fits best
with the words when the textures are all too briefly sparing and simple, but
to my mind become claggy and at odds with the poetry where the impressionistic
and expressionistic elements are allowed to take hold. I had no expectations
when listening to these songs, and was certainly not expecting any attempts at
traditional Japanese musical style. If this cycle was a plate of food however,
I could imagine Michel Roux jr. saying ‘it’s not right’. I
am the first to give room for anyone to set texts any way they see fit, but do
feel strongly that the meeting of enigmatic Japanese writing with all its symbolism
and other-worldly philosophical content and Garner’s treacle-thick romanticism
jars horribly. The Haiku for instance, are spun out by the repetition
of words in a late romantic operatic manner, removing all semblance of the original
rhythm and character of the texts. This is a personal response and many may not
agree, but this juxtaposition made me feel a little ill, like sushi and cream: ‘not
right, not right at all…’
With Phenomenal Woman we are on safer ground. These are seven songs on
poems by Maya Angelou, taking the form of cabaret songs, and exploring jazzy
idioms, blues and rock and roll. This is the kind of thing American composers
frequently do very well indeed, and Garner is no exception, though the range
seems to stay on the high side a bit too much too long for Lisa Delan’s
voice sometimes. She gives some fine faux-naivety to the hymn voice in Lord,
in my Heart and manages or is given more space to develop character than
any of the other singers. Both texts and music are a somewhat coy and sanitised
view on life and language - “lowdown mother user” come on -
but make for an entertaining listen nonetheless.
This is a fine release, well performed and beautifully recorded in stylishly
subtle SACD surround sound. David Garner’s melodic music is very much on
the human scale, and provides relief from those fed up with ernstige angst-strewn
atonal modern music. Not everything was to my taste on this album, but beauty
is in the ear of the beholder, and I don’t want my words or the rather
easily lampooned cover picture to put anyone off trying this disc. If you enjoyed And
if the Song be Worth a Smile then this will go very well next
to it on your shelf.
Dominy Clements
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