There Is a Season

Soprano Robyn Driedger-Klassen and pianist Terence Dawson join forces for There Is a Season — a concert of contemporary gems for voice and piano. They will perform the song cycle Songs of the Seasons by Margaret Bonds, and At the Statue of Venus by Jake Heggie.

Songs of the Seasons:

Poème d’automne
Winter Moon
Young Love in Spring
Summer Storm

Songs of the Seasons, with text by Langston Hughes (1902-1967) set to music by Black composer Margaret Bonds (1913-1972), is a compendium of styles embracing the African American tradition in music. In Young Love in Spring and Winter Moon, Bonds’ own cultural heritage is subtly evident. The former song has sweeping vocal lines and a power that is rhapsodic while the latter is rather short with static vocal lines. The African American vocal tradition is manifest in Poème d’Automne and Summer Storm. The Poème is dark and bluesy, while the virtuosic vocal lines and jazzy rhythms of Summer Storm describe Hughs’ vividly emotional thunder, and the wonder of being in love.

At the Statue of Venus:

Jake Heggie describes At the Statue of Venus as a “musical scene.” After collaborating with Terrence McNally on the opera “The Walking Dead,” these artists again join forces with “At the Statue of Venus”. While on a blind date, the main (and sole) character searches her emotions which, initially, may be seen as a jumble of hope, uncertainty and self-doubt.

“A WOMAN enters. Her name is ROSE. She wears well-cut black slacks, low heels and a crisp blouse with a reasonable cleavage. A modest necklace and earrings complete her look which is best described as open, honest, direct. She stands a moment, looking around and getting her bearings, then looks at her watch and begins to wait.” —  J. Heggie and T. McNally

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