SOPRANO Sarah Gabriel and pianist Robin Green performed a programme featuring music that had been banned by the Third Reich, which considered it “degenerate”.
It opened with settings of poetry by the German/Jewish poet Heinrich Heine by Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Schubert, followed by seven early songs by composer Alban Berg.
Mahler settings of Friedrich Ruckert poems were also chosen for the recital, along with Songs of the Clown by Erich Korngold, based on texts from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The programme was brought to a charming close with That’s Him from Kurt Weill’s musical One Touch of Venus, with words by Ogden Nash. Another delightful song by Korngold provided an encore.
Some of this music and poetry may not have been familiar to all but Sarah thoughtfully interspersed the programme with interesting facts and translations to enhance the audience’s enjoyment.
It was a demanding programme, requiring a high level of vocal, emotional and physical stamina, with sympathetic and sensitive teamwork displayed by Sarah and Robin.
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