Whatever you might think classical singing is, Louise Cramer and Penny Lazarus are about to open your eyes, and your ears, to something new. With the piano accompaniment of Barbara Flocco, their upcoming recital “for the love of singing” is a wide-ranging, multi-dimensional celebration of the human voice and its ability to express all things human – and perhaps some things beyond the human realm.
To be presented at Mosely Chapel at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield on Sunday, May 2, at 4:00 p.m.,“for the love of singing” is a joyous Grand Tour of songs that have inspired Ms. Cramer and Ms. Lazarus, and generations of others, to fall in love with the magical, musical possibilities of the human voice. “I’ve performed and taught the piano for 30 years,” says Ms. Lazarus, “but when I sing, I am the instrument. It’s the most intimate musical experience one can have.”
Selections range from the light, coquettishness of French Twentieth-Century composers like Eric Satie and Poulenc, to the dark, soul searching depths of Gustav Mahler, to the wry and mournful Hermit Songs of Samuel Barber, showstoppers by Berlin and Sondheim, and candidly simple American folk songs as interpreted by Aaron Copland.
One feature will be Ms. Cramer’s performance of Samuel Barber’s, lush, richly textured “Knoxville: Summer of 1915.” Inspired by 1938 short prose piece by James Agee, it premiered with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Serge Koussevitzky in 1948. A “lyric rhapsody” narrated by a mysterious child, “Knoxville: Summer of 1915″ offers a simple, dreamlike depiction of a summer’s evening in the American South almost a century ago.
Seasoned stage veterans, Ms. Cramer and Ms. Lazarus are both teachers by day (one English, one piano), and both long-time students of Amesbury’s famed voice teacher Martha Peabody, whom both credit for the inspiration and training that now allows them to share their love of singing with the community in “for the love of singing” at Mosely Chapel at The Governor’s Academy in Byfield on Sunday, May 2, at 4:00 p.m. A reception will follow. In lieu of admission, donations will be gratefully accepted for Our Neighbors’ Table. For more information call 978-462-4720 or visit www.pennylazaruspianostudio.com
