REVIEW: Peter Thoresen at Old St. Paul's
Countertenor Peter Thoreson
Old St. Paul's Tuesday Music Series
Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 12:15 p.m.
http://www.oldstpauls.ang-md.org/tms.htm
A well-trained voice singing is living on the fringe. Singer’s muscles stretch vocal chords, push air past them, through cavities shaped by mouth, cheeks, tongue, teeth, sinuses, and lips to create vibrations. A countertenor singing is living over the edge.
Baltimore was lucky Tuesday to have Peter Thoreson, his accompanist John Armato, and Old St. Paul’s Tuesday Music Series presenting Songs of John Dowland (1563-1626).
The church and its spaces are beautiful. Three Tiffany mosaics back the altar, which in turn is under a stained glass window depicting the “River of Life.” The 1854, Neo-Italian-Romanesque space consists of a well-proportioned nave with two side aisles, and a barrel-vault over the altar.
Thoresen and Armato filled the entire volume with Dowland’s “exquisitely sorrowful music.” Thoresen sang three songs, Come again, His golden locks, and Flow my tears, then Armato played a galliard solo. Three more songs, Fine knacks for ladies; Weep you no more, sad fountains; and In darkness let me dwell, followed.
The reverberations of the hall do not forgive mistakes. This listener heard controlled, crisp, clear, sounds with exquisite timbre. Even more, Thoresen and Armato managed to convey the narrative of these songs with emotion. It was a lovely performance.
Whether a countertenor is a trained falsetto or an unusually high-register ‘natural’ tenor or a combination of the two, Thoresen sounds natural and manly. It’s a rare thing.
About Countertenors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertenor
Visit My Current Blog!
Old St. Paul's Tuesday Music Series
Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 12:15 p.m.
http://www.oldstpauls.ang-md.org/tms.htm
A well-trained voice singing is living on the fringe. Singer’s muscles stretch vocal chords, push air past them, through cavities shaped by mouth, cheeks, tongue, teeth, sinuses, and lips to create vibrations. A countertenor singing is living over the edge.
Baltimore was lucky Tuesday to have Peter Thoreson, his accompanist John Armato, and Old St. Paul’s Tuesday Music Series presenting Songs of John Dowland (1563-1626).
The church and its spaces are beautiful. Three Tiffany mosaics back the altar, which in turn is under a stained glass window depicting the “River of Life.” The 1854, Neo-Italian-Romanesque space consists of a well-proportioned nave with two side aisles, and a barrel-vault over the altar.
Thoresen and Armato filled the entire volume with Dowland’s “exquisitely sorrowful music.” Thoresen sang three songs, Come again, His golden locks, and Flow my tears, then Armato played a galliard solo. Three more songs, Fine knacks for ladies; Weep you no more, sad fountains; and In darkness let me dwell, followed.
The reverberations of the hall do not forgive mistakes. This listener heard controlled, crisp, clear, sounds with exquisite timbre. Even more, Thoresen and Armato managed to convey the narrative of these songs with emotion. It was a lovely performance.
Whether a countertenor is a trained falsetto or an unusually high-register ‘natural’ tenor or a combination of the two, Thoresen sounds natural and manly. It’s a rare thing.
About Countertenors: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countertenor
Visit My Current Blog!
posted by James Beau at 5:10 AM
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