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June LeBell, first female announcer at WQXR, New York’s commercial classical music radio station, left radio after almost 30 years and now resides in Sarasota, Florida, where she writes on classical music, sings professionally, lectures (there and in New York City) and is the Managing Director of Sarasota’s Glenridge Performing Arts Center. She has authored a cookbook called Kitchen Classics from the Philharmonic.
June LeBell: I want to talk to you today about recital, its future, and your new recital CD Marcus DeLoach: American Song. What place does the recital have in the year 2004?
MARCUS: This is such an important question. I think the recital has been cruising down the wrong path for many years. If you think of much of the standard repertoire having been conceived for a “salon/Liederabend world,” then its performance in such huge venues as Alice Tully and Carnegie Hall could actually be seen as an abomination. Now, with our good friend the TV which offers so much to us “on demand,” the relevance of going to a huge venue to hear a famous American soprano sing 200 year old salon songs in a language no one in the audience speaks has become a big question. I’m not sure I know what place the "blockbuster recital" has in 2004. I do know what place many of the songs have, but the concert recital itself is an enigma in our time.
Large venue recitals used to be a practical tool for the record industry to promote and sell records. Audiences were made up of large immigrant populations (as well as their children) who knew the songs and the languages intimately. It was indeed “their music.” Things are very different now and that infrastructure is gone. I believe classical song is going to be forced to transplant itself into smaller and more intimate performance spaces, and this is not necessarily a bad thing.
J: It’s true the audiences have changed and there are fewer opportunities to hear classical song.
M: These days recitals have simply become the “graduation requirement” in conservatories and the “graduation present” to those singers with big careers in opera. But as far as finding, in the concert hall, the kind of artistry where voice and interpretation transcend the confines of the auditorium in a way we never forget… I think this happens quite infrequently. And, I don’t think it is an unrealistic goal to have! Often I find, when I go and see a drama on Broadway or a Rufus Wainwright concert at Town Hall, I can rely on the notion that I’m going to experience something profound. However, in classical vocal performances, I find myself tentatively entering the concert hall in fear that a wrist slitting boredom will dominate the evening.
It truly was different for audiences in the past. I can
just imagine a New York where you could hear Jennie Tourel and Christa
Ludwig with Bernstein at the piano, Janet Baker with Gerald Moore, and
Marilyn Horne with Martin Katz in the same year. These were performers
who were thoroughly schooled in the art of song singing. They knew the
repertoire, knew their audience, and knew that the music was more important
than themselves. As Jennie Tourel put it in an interview with John Ardoin,
many years ago, “the singer needs to learn to give to the audience
and these days all they want to do is take.” That was in 1969! And
it's a statement which instantly brings to mind Von Stade, a singer who
always performs with a glowing generosity. She is quite unique in this
quality which, I would suggest, is part of the reason for her success
not only on the recital stage but in everything she sings.
J: Wow! Do you think we are seeing the last days of the recital now?
M: It’s possible. We're seeing the end of many things these days. It's a natural process that olds things pass and new things are often difficult to accept. I don’t wish to be bleak. We live in somewhat bleak times as it is! I believe these problems could absolutely be solved by “investment” in the medium. I’m not referring to $ from patrons (although that never hurts), but rather personal investments from the song singers and pianists. As Callas put it, “You’ve got to have something to say.” I have been to only a handful of recitals in my life where the singer actually had something to say and that doesn't even approach the questions of whether or not they had something interesting to say. We'll leave that question to someone else. The future of the art song recital lies solely in the hands of the artists themselves. They have to take the time and energy to tell the world, “Hey, there is some amazing music here and you’ve got to hear it!” Often, the singer will pick great music but then proceed to perform it with a dangerously casual and assuming demeanor. That’s not what I’m talking about. There are no investments in that kind of performance! It takes a lot of energy to compete with X-Men, but that is the challenge before anyone who thinks classical song deserves a central location in our current lifestyle.
J: What do you look for as an audience member in a recital?
M: I’m really glad you put it that way. Because I think a good performer needs to be able to play a variety of roles including, but not limited to, the performer and the audience member. They must be able to put themselves in the audience’s shoes and see the recital as objectively as they can.
As an audience member, I want to see the singer singing
the music which he sings the best. For example, I myself am not particularly
interested in hearing a young American singer singing an album of French
song or Schubert Lieder for that matter. I think it is great to work on
this repertoire and offer it occasionally, especially if the individual
singer has a special skill with a particular genre of song. The great
baritone Thomas Hampson is a perfect example. He is a master of American
song and the German Lied and he programs accordingly. Most of the time
though, singers present a little of this and a little of that and they
don’t focus on what they are good at as much as what they wish they
were good at. I want to hear people singing songs and words which they
are passionate about and which they can understand on a deep level. American
singers are burdened with the obligation to offer at least four proficient
languages on a regular basis. It’s like being the mini-mall of song.
“Over here we have French things, and here we have German and Italian.
All under one roof for your convenience!”
J: It’s true, recitals can often be a hodge-podge of repertoire without any real design or logic to them.
M: Exactly! I’m convinced that a recital program must be “composed.” When I go and see a cabaret evening, I am always hooked from the start and proceed to stay on the edge of my seat for the whole event. This kind of programming is by design and cabaret artists spend a lot of time planning their sets to have a real impact. With recitals, programming is much more haphazard and it is generally accepted that an audience member may tune in and tune out as the program goes on. “Well, I don’t like Schubert, so I’ll start paying attention again later when the show tunes start.” Am I right? This is what it’s actually like and people are fine with it. I can’t think of anything more depressing!
J: Yes, you can often predict the impact of the whole recital from that first glance at the program.
M: In a way, that typed program (which is a veritable staple of the vocal recital) ruins it all. Once, the audience has that paper in their hands there is a barrier between you and them. Also, they are given a map of what to expect for the whole evening and can start making judgments before you even open your mouth. I’ve never performed without programs, but perhaps this would be an interesting idea to try.
Imagine the salons of the past where a very vogue crowd would sit waiting expectantly for Schubert to put his latest creation on the piano. Can you just imagine the excitement? It must have been like Spiderman 2 for them! We are in the business of “re-creative art”(which is an interesting term in itself). I think it works in our favor, as artists, to try anything we can to make the experience seem like the first time. This kind of thinking scares some people because they are preoccupied with “the last time.”
We performers are constantly being undermined by the spoken
opinion of the audience (and critics as well, but don’t get me started
on that!). This is not actually the public’s fault, but rather due
to the fact that most performers start out as audience members. This is
why I say you have to learn to wear both hats.
J: Now I’m going to ask you to switch roles.
M: Wait! Where’s my other hat? (laughing)
J: I’ve got a fez here if you’d like! (laughing) What do you look for in a recital program as a performer?
M: Well, I look for opportunities to make an impact. That sounds very cliché I know, but I think it is the whole point of a recital. The audience is supposed to leave the theater changed from the way they went in. I’ve had much opposition to this idea from my colleagues, but I really believe it’s the truth. The singer shouldn’t come off as preachy or anything like that, but there must be meaning inherent in the event of a recital itself.
I would like to add that, some performers take it, too, far and get a rush out of shock value. They try to use the recital as an opportunity to scold society’s ills by being mean and sending ugliness and aggression across the footlights to the audience. This is certainly not the message I’m talking about. I’m talking about communicating, in a sincere way, the great human truths which lie at the heart of the poetry and music. You don’t “teach the audience a lesson” but rather give them gifts. I think that’s what Jennie Tourel was talking about and what I hope to do in my own performances.
J: You have a new CD coming out Marcus DeLoach: American Song. What was the experience of making the CD like?
M: It was certainly an experience! Overall I am proud of the work, but there were moments when I was quite miserable during the process. I wanted to do this project for several reasons and the experience was chief among them. I did get valuable experience out of it, so it’s already paid off in a way.
J: The program is composed of entirely American repertoire, but not limited specifically to classical song. How did you go about constructing this program?
M: Well, I love singing in English and that was my first decision. I also wanted to put some Broadway and popular songs on the album and it was very important to me that they would flow organically out of the rest of the program. The program spans the gamut of styles and periods with something for everyone. At the same time, they are all songs which excite me personally and the issues and poets of the texts are entirely American as well.
So... the question was, "How do you get from Ernst Bacon to Harold Arlen?" The answer I came up with was to use theater composers like Bernstien and Blitzstien to bridge the gap. I actually used to arias by these composers which is rather uncommon to hear on a recital these days. The CD also has folk songs on it. Now you might ask, what do folk songs have to do with opera arias? Well, not too much, which is why I aimed to limit the harmonic palate of the folk arrangements to a very contemporary sensibility. In general, the CD has a very modern harmonic language and this was important to me because I am performing for a modern audience.
M: Ha! Blind faith! The first thing was to come up with an artistic vision and financial plan and then I had to raise the capital to fund the project. I was very fortunate to have many people who supported me in this who gave their time and money with no guarantee of my success. I owe these amazingly generous people a lot. Once I had the funding in place, it was a simply a question of diving in and going for it. Doing the album art, securing the licenses, going to the studio, going back to the studio, going to the studio again… (laughter)
M: I’m not really sure right now, but I know there will indeed be changes. Perhaps those might even be subconscious decisions that I don’t even verbalize at the time. Each project dictates its own requirements. Next time will be new material and that fact alone could change my whole approach.
M: I love that quote which means many things to me. The primary thing, in this case, being that this album is comprised mainly of old songs which, while central to the repertoire, are really the back story to the music of our time. They are my story, they are your story, and reveal much about what it is to be an American. I am planning to make another CD. There were times during the making of this one when I felt pretty strongly I didn’t ever want to do it again, but now it’s a challenge, and I want to meet it! I learned so much making this one that I know the next will be even better.
J: I noticed that two of the arrangements on the program were by someone named DeLoach?
M: Yes, that's me.
J: Have you always been a composer?
M: Well, not exactly. I have composed for a long time for recreation. It was sort of a get away thing for me. The two arrangements on the CD came more out of necessity than by some kind of plan on my part. For Streets of Laredo, we had a wonderful arrangement, but there was a problem with securing permissions. There wasn't any other persuasive arrangement of the song and we really wanted to include it. That's what prompted me to write my own. In the case of the spiritual Ev'ry time I feel the Spirit it was more a question of having the right arrangement specifically for me. I dug up many arrangements in stores, librarys and the web. Some were Gospel and some were classical. None of them seemed to be a great fit and, again, I decided to write my own.
J: You’re quite the project man. First a website and now a CD! What can we expect to see next from you?
M: Well, I can’t reveal too much at this point, but… I can say that my next project is going to be more concentrated on new music and new explorations of the boundaries of song medium.
M: I’d love to but… I really can’t right now. Keep checking the website and you’ll get all the news!
M: Oh yes! I need to have a feeling for myself that what I do has personal artistic value to me. Often professional jobs I get are not fulfilling this way. By conceiving my own projects, I have a balance of what I have to do and what I want to do. However, I am finding more often these days that the lines blur and the things which I have to do can be quite fulfilling and the things I want to do can turn into a lot of work. That’s life I guess.
J: That’s true enough, and this young singer’s is turning into quite the adventure. Keep logging on to www.marcusdeloach.com to catch the next episode!