The Wykehamist
The evening offered several pleasant surprises among those less frequently encountered in the College’ s musical life. Devan Kumar( A, 22-) performed Tchaikovsky’ s None But the Lonely Heart with clear narrative intent and a tone sustained impressively across his upper register; a momentary lapse in intonation was recovered from with composure, and the overall effect was thoroughly convincing. Arthur Duckworth( H, 21-) brought genuine textual sensitivity to Quilter’ s Come Away Death; more dynamic contrast would not have gone amiss, but the instinct for meaning was evident and welcome. Whether these gentlemen have been hiding their vocal abilities from us, or whether we have simply not been paying sufficient attention, I leave as an open question.
The duets, meanwhile, provided some much-welcome variety. Rebecca Viola( H, 24-) and Josh Liu( F, 21-) performed Mozart’ s Bei Männern with carefully matched vowels, evident mutual enjoyment, and a blend that suggested serious preparation. The Lakmé Flower Duet, sung by Sesika Norgbey( E, 25-) and Anna Nott( D, 25-), was at its most beautiful in its polyphonic passages. While the blend was occasionally uneven, the vowel matching was impressively aligned, and both performers were visibly having a wonderful time, which counted for a great deal. Isabella Polk( E, 25-) and Benedict Margolin( E, 21-) provided a confident account of Lloyd Webber’ s All I Ask of You, the style well-matched even if the balance occasionally favoured the latter in the upper register.
Matteo Lombardo( Coll:, 22-) gave a thoroughly characteristic performance of Mozart’ s Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen: whimsical, technically accomplished, and so utterly committed to the absurdity of the enterprise, that one could only conclude the repertoire had been selected with great personal wisdom. Kyven Tan( Coll:, 21-) closed off the programme with Schubert’ s Ganymed, the balance between voice and piano among the most natural of the evening. The singing was controlled and impressive throughout, though one would note, gently, that a music stand is generally considered standard practice when performing with a score.
And then there was William Newport( E, 21-). It would be remiss of me not to devote a sentence or two to his performance of Tom Lehrer’ s Poisoning Pigeons in the Park— which I should clarify for the reader is the actual title of an actual song— an account that was charismatic, diction-perfect, and received by the audience with the laughter it deserved. Lehrer, famously, made irony into an art form; Newport, one is pleased to report, was entirely up to the task.
In all, I leave the evening with warm feelings, a notebook full of opinions, and the firm conviction that Songfest has justified its place in the calendar. Many thanks to all 42 performers, and to the accompanists Coen Li( G, 22-), Laurie Sawbridge( H, 22-), SRB, SBI, BHGC, EIE, JO and NAS.
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