Music be the Food of Love in Review
I wished I could be there, I really really do. But as we have learnt from life’s little lessons, shit happens and there’s nothing you can do about it. Thankfully, my good friend Randeorpheus attended and did me a special favour by telling us all about this fab show that I missed. Dammit!
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This concert that was held in the Art House last Saturday (15 Nov) included a set of Baroque songs and arias performed in English, Italian and French. Accompanied by Chan Wei Shing on the cello and Shane Thio on harpsichord, soprano Jeong Ae Ree stepped onstage in an exquisite grey gown accessorised with an impeccable hairdo. Ae Ree’s voice is best described as a light lyric soprano, with brightly projected high notes and a wide range of colours that sparkle like a crystal chandelier.
Ae Ree took a big risk by opening the show with Handel’s Bel Piacere from Agrippina taken at a really fast tempo. Lots of beautiful running notes were not able to flow beautifully as a result of this breakneck speed. Ae Ree’s voice was a little soft and not stable in this first piece. IMO the heightened acoustics of the Art House Chamber do not compliment this upbeat aria as well. The soupy echo effects meant that audiences were not able to hear the individual notes in a coloratura passage, as these notes would sound ‘gummy’ by the time they reach the audience, especially for those who are seated further away from the stage.
The second is another Handel piece - V’adoro pupille from Giulio Cesare. The beauty of Ae Ree’s voice truly radiated in this performance. she phrased beautifully including and especially on her high notres. What was lacking was her low notes which were a little weak; it was barely audible from where I was seated. Overall, Ae Ree had sung this song with a nice flow and a reflection of simple beauty.
The programme listed two more Handel masterpieces from the opera Semele – O Sleep, why dost thou leave me? and Myself I shall adore. The crescendo in the beginning of the aria of O sleep, why dost thou leave me? captured my attention and immediately melted my heart. Ae Ree managed to give this aria a little touch of coloratura in the ornamentation, and certainly made this rendition her own. The clean and simple lines resonated in the air of this concert hall and it felt like an angel was singing.
Myself I shall adore was wonderfully acted with help from a handheld mirror, which made the whole hall come alive. Her interpretation of this song was wonderful. She brought an ultra femininity to this role and fully showcased both her coloratura technique and her talents in acting. With her credentials as a Singapore-based voice teacher, one easily overlooks the fact that Mme. Jeong is a legitmiate opera singer who has played leading roles in several operas including Rigoletto, Don Pasquale, The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Die Fledemaus and many others during her stays in German and Austria. Her range of experiences made her magnificent in handling the narrative elements in these operatic selections. Although she has limited her repertoire to baroque and lieder works these days, it would be an exciting prospect to see her working with the SLO. After all these years, I’m wondering when will SLO recognise this local talent and extend a platform for her to shine on an operatic stage?
The program now shifts from Italian pieces to two English pieces from Henry Purcell, Music for a while and If music be the food of love. I may not be a fan of Purcell’s music, but it is difficult not to melt at Ae Ree’s captivating performance of these two songs, delivered with clean lines emphasizing on the simple beauty of its poetry.
Before the interval, Ae Ree sang an anonymous piece The little turtle dove accapella. Ae Ree did a really good job on this piece with her clean and warm tone. You might be pleasantly surprised that a song could be sung with such touching tenderness, without the aid instrument accompaniment. It caught my attention so much that I had to flip the booklet to find out who the composer was (stated as ‘anonymous’ in the programme).
After the interval, Ae Ree was back on stage in an elegant black gown. The first song in the second half was a popular piece: Caccini’s setting of Ave Maria. Personally, I didn’t like this arrangement. I felt the harpsichord accompaniment spoilt the song, as the ‘twangy’ instrument’s lack of legato capabilities clashed with the lovely legato spun out by Ae Ree.
The second piece was JS Bach’s Quia respexithumilitatem from Magnificat. It was a moving piece of work. Ae Ree had given it a very different interpretation, focusing more on the inner feelings of this music. It could be better if the tempo was a bit slower as this would have added a further sense of serenity to the performance.
The last vocal piece on the programme booklet was Le Triomfe de la Constance, a short cantata by Michel Pignolet Monteclair. This was my first encounter with this piece of music. I liked it very much. The interaction between the accompanists and the soloist were great. However, there was a little unintended drama: mid-way through the performance, the cellist’s score dropped from the stand, forcing him to stop playing for a short while while he retrieved the piece of paper. Nonetheless, this little incident didn’t overshadow the overall performance of this French piece, which was lovely, very melodious and sweet.
For her first encore, Ae Ree performed Caccini’s Amarilli mia bella. This was my second time listening to Ae Ree singing this song. The first time was at a concert a few years ago. This time round, Ae Ree had made this simple Italian art song very different, melding an essentially baroque style interpretation with a touch of bel canto.
Undoubtedly, it was a successful tour in the different musical styles of baroque vocal music. Popular works and rare pieces were presented in good proportions. Perhaps the only improvement needed was more publicity for this concert. With such a wonderful voice belonging to a daughter-in-law of Singapore, it definitely deserved more exposure and reach to bigger audiences. 
Randeorpheus