Here are some excerpts from a special faculty recital – “A Glimpse of Grieg” – which I sang with my colleague Amy Haines back in the spring of 2007. It was Amy’s idea to commemorate Edvard Grieg – Norway’s greatest composer – in the 100th anniversary year of his death. Grieg’s songs are unjustly neglected, aside from a small handful of beloved masterpieces, and it was a real pleasure to be part of something that drew attention to some of these wonderful but rarely heard little treasures. Amy sang most of the program, accompanied by Aaron Nee – while I contributed four songs in collaboration with Dimitri Shapovalov, very soon after he began teaching at Carthage. I was already familiar with the first two songs, and each held a special place in my heart, albeit for different reasons.
“En Svane” (“A Swan”) is the solo that I sang (in English) for state music contest back in my sophomore year of high school (in the spring of 1976.) I loved the song and tried to sing it very expressively – but evidently I didn’t sing it as well as I thought I had, because I ended up earning only a II rating. It was a staggering surprise but I eventually recovered …. and 31 years later, it felt great to finally sing this song again.
“Vaaren” (“Spring”) is a very tender song about an old man experiencing what he believes will be the last springtime he will ever see. I’ve sung this on several occasions over the years, but it was a special pleasure to sing this with my friend and colleague Dimitri at the piano. He played it with such tenderness and musicality.
The third and fourth songs were brand new to me but I was happy to learn them because they helped me realize that Grieg’s mastery as a song composer extended well beyond the gentle favorites that were so well known.