Supreme voice

Because of an erratic bus service which ill-serves commuters along "my" very busy route, a half-hour wait almost made me miss soprano Claudia Tabone's song and lieder recital last Sunday. I would have been very sorry to miss it for since I last heard this charming and comely young singer from Gozo, I could frankly say that she has registered a great improvement. This recital of works by Mozart and Schubert was a repeat of the one she had given at St James Cavalier not so long ago, which I had missed thus making my attendance at the repeat imperative.

Alex Vella Gregory accompanied the singer at a beautiful Broadwood piano. This is the generous gift of George de Bono, who has been a keen supporter of the recitals at St Catherine's ever since their inception. The pianist, in his usual easily communicative way, introduced the recital which began with a number of songs by Mozart. Ms Tabone sang seven of them, charming little mood pieces which are hardly ever heard and two of which are in French: Oiseaux si tous les ans, K. 307 and Dans un bois solitaire, K. 308. Both are close to and from Mozart's ill-fated visit to Paris in 1778, and of course they have a sylvan setting in common, but not all that much in subject matter although love creeps into both of them. The other five songs are in German and range from Der Zauberer, K. 472 (1785) to Abendempfindung, K. 523 (1787).

In all these songs the voice is supreme and the piano accompanies and fills in. Much depends on clarity of delivery and diction to make each phrase tell. Ms Tabone has a clear and well-pitched voice able to produce a variety of nuances according to the subject matter. The German songs came in a choice which swung from the reflective Abendempfindung and Die Alte, K. 517 to the magic fantasy of Der Zauberer and the sadly poignant Das Veilchen, K. 476.

An additional foray in the mine-field of love was well-projected in the decisively determined Ich wurd auf meinem Pfad. While diction in the two French songs was pretty clear that in the German songs (as later with Schubert) was not always of the same quality but on balance it tended to be good and always crisply delivered. The timbre is pleasant and is at times warm as well as silvery in tone and overall delivery is in keeping with the required style.

Schubert's lieder are among the solid yardsticks of the genre, one which gives equal importance to the piano and the voice. The former often has the last word and carries on projecting the mood and feeling so concretely established by the voice in an additionally more abstract way. The soprano's selection of Schubert lieder included some of the composer's most popular creations.

In all the eight lieder, soprano and pianist worked very well together into bringing to life all the conflicting emotions evoked by the lieder.

As one could guess that absolutely lovely Die Forelle (1817) was all gurgling water and darting fish while there was tremendously energetic build-up in Gretchen am Spinnrade (1814) where the voice was at its least clear at the very top. Yet, in the equally dramatic climax to the (Rellstab) Staendchen (1828) this was better crafted and wrought and as one of the composer's very last lieder had a particularly poignant touch to it. The late Wiegenlied (1826), was the charmingly relaxing and tender exercise it should be, Heidenroeslien (1815) a perky romp while the undated An Sylvia was an almost staidly laudatory exercise. Very evocative were Nachtviolen (1822) and Im Abendrot (1824). Ending the recital was an extra aria Mozart wrote for Nancy Storace, his first Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Un moto di gioa (1789). Just two short four-line stanzas but sung with great verve and style.

The singer is promising, has obviously been working hard and intends to keep doing so. There is still a good degree of polishing to be done and one looks forward to the result.