In Robert and Clara Schumann’s youngest son Felix’s poem “Meine Liebe ist grün,” nature magnifies the love the speaker feels. Brahms’ song bustles with the sheer ebullience of love he himself felt for Felix’s mother. Like “Gretchen am Spinnrade,” Brahms’ “Von ewiger Liebe” tells a story about a love as secure as Gretchen’s is tenuous. The dark setting in August Heinrich Hoffman von Fallersleben’s poem reflects the lover’s anxiety over what others may say about their relationship. When his lover responds that their love is strong and will withstand adversity, the relief he feels is palpable, represented musically by the melody’s rhythmic displacement against the harmony. What I Miss the Most… is comprised of answers to the title posed as a question, when the world shut down in March 2020. Heggie’s five songs capture not only what the authors had to say but a sense of who they are. The opera singer Joyce DiDonato wrote about receiving the sudden order to shelter in place. The edgy accompaniment reflects shock at the change in all our lives, the recurring turn figure in the vocal melody, the sense of being stuck in one spot. After a quiet middle section suggesting a period of waiting and reflection, the return of the opening is the resumption of activity (though no one at that time could have imagined how far into the future that would be).
The dramatic songs in the cycle Iconic Legacies: First Ladies at the Smithsonian are based on iconic items housed at the museum related to four of our First Ladies. The first is Eleanor Roosevelt describing the mink coat Marian Anderson wore while she sang before a huge crowd at the Lincoln Memorial, a performance Eleanor Roosevelt helped to realize. References to “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” abound, and the climactic line is: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” The second is Mary Todd Lincoln responding to the hat adorned with a mourning band in memory of their deceased son, worn by her husband the night he was assassinated. The third is Jacqueline Kennedy recalling the Christmas card she and her husband signed the day of his assassination – the trivial juxtaposed with the tragic. The fourth is Barbara Bush describing her literacy campaign and the Sesame Street Muppets, a lively conclusion to a recital about love and connection. —Dr. Anne-Marie Reynolds Music History Professor, The Juilliard School
The Broadway star Patti LuPone reflected on the opportunity to spend time with her family. Heggie’s setting reflects her positive attitude, knowing and feeling grateful for what’s most important in life. The expansive possibilities Sister Helen Prejean initially contemplated after the shutdown are suggested by the music’s broad sweep, but her conscience soon kicked in, and she worried about the unfairness of prisoners suffering unequally in the pandemic. The increasing tension in the accompaniment reflects her desire to take action and help. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg missed “music made by many,” and the coming together “in unison,” which is precisely how the song ends. This statement is all the more poignant since we lost her soon after she wrote it. Pianist and conductor Kathleen Kelly noted endearing details about the people she loves, visible during the shutdown only on a two-dimensional screen, and the longing caused by that limitation. Heggie’s song reflects the significance of each minute observation and the profound emotion contained in such simple statements as “I see you see me.” Of God and Cats is a playful pair of songs, the first about how the cat got its purr, and the second about God as a naughty boy.
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Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
