Fates of Flesh and Stone

That's the name of the recital of music by Jake Heggie, presented as part of the Grandin Festival at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music Sunday night. About 200 people turned out in Werner Recital Hall for an extraordinary evening of vocal-chamber music. Listeners included festival participants and opera lovers, such as local singer Luisa Dickey and arts patrons Ed and Nancy Rosenthal, who were astounded at the talent assembled for this "student" recital. (Also in the crowd: Nic Muni, just appointed to the CCM opera faculty, and wife Mari.)

The idea of Grandin, co-founded by CCM prof Barbara Honn, is for students to work with master teachers and prepare a recital -- held almost nightly for two weeks. This evening's "master" was Jake Heggie, who introduced each of his own pieces in this substantial program of up-to-the-minute music, and also served as piano accompanist for the musical scene he wrote with Terrence McNally, "At the Statue of Venus."

Heggie (who is 45 but looks 25) is better known as the composer of operas "Dead Man Walking" and "The End of the Affair." I have to admit that I was surprised -- and extremely impressed -- at the depth and breadth of his vocal chamber music. But then, writing songs is really how he started.

These compositions were written between 2002 and 2005. "I'm a theater composer," he told the audience, "and just as in the theater, things happen at the last minute."

Oops. The "thing" that happened was that the violinist for the first piece for piano trio and mezzo, "Times of Day," to texts by Raymond Carver, had food poisoning. So Heggie had spent the day rearranging the work for piano, cello and mezzo. (I was interested to learn it was commissioned through Stanford, my alma mater.)

It worked beautifully. Carver's poems are poignant; he likely knew he had brain cancer when he wrote them. Soon Cho took the solo, with Gustavo Carpinteyro, cellist, and Matt Lobaugh at the piano. I loved the first verse, "Minuet," which had a jazzy feel and Heggie's trademark soaring melismas for the singer. It was both sensual and jazzy (I thought, what fun it might be to hear Denyce Graves sing this). Soon Cho was especially captivating in the second verse, "Simple," which opened with a wordless melody against slightly bitonal accompaniment It was a simple waltz, something in the style of Les Six, but the words -- "if I were dead, I remind myself, I wouldn't be eating (raspberries)" were enough to stop you in your tracks. The third verse embedded the singer as part of the rich texture, and Carver's words were timeless.

"The Deepest Desire" is another work that I would like to hear again. Composed to the words of Sister Helen Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking," Heggie explained that it describes her internal, spiritual journey, as opposed to the opera, that was her physical journey.

Written for flute (Ginny Broffitt), piano (Moises Ruiz de Gauna) and mezzo-soprano (Christina Gill), the trio opened with the flutist turned, back to the audience, playing a plaintive solo against the piano lid, so that the overtunes rang inside the piano. It was a haunting introduction, and the pianist's Ravel-like arpeggiations added lush atmosphere.

From her first words, the way Christina Gill inhabited Sister Helen's text was stunning. The autobiographical poems describe the nun's feelings vividly -- as she dove into the dangerous, controversial issues of capital punishment. "More is required than being swept along -- all the currents pulling me. ... I raise my voice against the silence. My voice alone. Until a chorus joins," she wrote.

Gill's voice soared through this imagery, rising to an impassioned climax, and subsiding back with instrospection. In contrast, the second song, "I catch on fire," was a humorous portrait of the nun as teacher, whose habit had caught on fire as she taught 25 children. They all learned a lesson.

And "The deepest desire" revealed to us what led Sister Helen to become an activist: a Voice, calling: "Lose yourself!" The final song, "Primary colors," was a serene summation, knowing that she has done it all for her God. The musicians gave it a radiant performance, but most telling was Heggie's art: a seamless crafting of words, music and emotion.

That seamless quality was also key in "Here and Gone," where it was Heggie's turn to be autobiographical. Written to poems by A.E. Housman and Vachel Lindsay, the cycle tells the story of unrequited love and friendship between two men. "A theme that's run through my life is about missed connections, and then turning away, and coming back when it's too late," Heggie said, as introduction. "To make up for those times, I wrote this piece." (The premiere last summer at the Ravinia Festival was by CCM grad Andrew Garland and tenor Nicholas Phan.)

The soloists were tenor Todd Patrick and baritone Kelvin Chan, with a piano quartet (Kuan-Chang Tu, violin; Sunyoung Park, viola; Eduardo Carpinteyro, cello; and Chia-Hsing Lin, piano).

The two men stood on opposite sides of the stage, "hallo--ing" as if across a canyon, for the opening effect. The first song, Housman's "The Farms of Home," was simple -- in the style of an English folk song -- yet there was surprising harmonic interest in the instrumental accompaniment.

The men alternated singing the seven songs, coming together for an exuberant "The Factory Window Song" at the center and then drifting apart again. The atmosphere was one of nostalgia and quiet beauty. The cycle ended with a sweetly sad poem by Housman, "The Half-Moon Westers Low," to glimmering tones in the piano, as the house lights faded out and the audience was left in pitch black.

After intermission, came two challenging vehicles for female singers. Soprano Colleen Brooks tackled "At the Statue of Venus," with Heggie at the piano, a scene originally created for Renee Fleming. (When she was unable to sing the premiere last year at the opening of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver, Heggie's chum and CCM grad Kristin Clayton stepped in.)

Written with Terrence McNally, the piece is a witty reflection of oh-so-human emotions, as a woman undergoes a fashion crisis while waiting for a blind date at the statue of Venus. Brooks, wielding a large, bright soprano, captured the combination of misgiving and nervousness, as she journeyed through the nightmare of having worn the wrong thing -- "black slacks." It was charming, and the central section, a confidence-building daydream about her childhood, had an almost Schubertian flavor.

The evening's finale was "Statuesque," a set Heggie wrote for mezzo Joyce Castle, sung here by the fearless Christina Gill with a seven-piece ensemble. The texts by Gene Scheer (An American Tragedy) offered tongue-in-cheek insights of five statues, from Henry Moore to the Winged Victory.

Each, of course, had a different character, such as the jazzy walking bass and sexy clarinet solo of Moore's Reclining Figure, and the French humor of Picasso's Head of a Woman. Gill was a knockout -- whether projecting the sinuous, mystical aura of Hatshepsut or the volcanic passion of Giacometti's Standing Woman. I think everyone's favorite, though, was Winged Victory, as Gill arched her back, arms raised, with a black stole to form wings, and the music took on a Kurt Weill cast.

What a revelation -- not to mention the tremendous talent pool at CCM this year.

The Grandin Festival continues Tuesday with The Romantic Vision, coached by tenor David Gordon; wed. with a lunch concert coached by Barbarer Honn at 1 p.m.; Thursday with "In a Cage of Composition" (expect some John Cage) coached by Cage expert Alan Otte; and the final Honors Concert Friday night, coached by the distinguished collaborator Warren Jones. Info: www.grandinfestival.com. It's Free!