On stage two internationally renowned class acts, complementary in the program they present. American countertenor Reginald Mobley can showcase one of the most fascinating voice types: high, light yet powerful. A lush but subtle timbre, delicately produced as filigree by a flexible and clear voice and versatile. He sings from baroque to musicals, jazz, contemporary repertoire and spirituals. He seemingly effortlessly manages to switch and create connections between the classical world and African American traditions and culture. Behind the piano the British musician Ashok Gupta. Besides his career as a pianist, he profiles himself as musical director of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London and as a conductor.
African American Spiritual
The recital is entirely built around the African American Spiritual – formerly commonly called Negro Spirituals. These fundamentally religious folk songs originated in the 18th and 19th centuries within the African American community, still very much under the yoke of slavery. However, it proved impossible to erase the roots and traditions of all these enslaved people. It is in that context that the spiritual emerged as a new, hybrid form of expression. They are songs with different layers and atmospheres. The enslaved people poured their hearts and souls into them. Music with the particular power to keep blocked and deeply buried memories alive. Singing was for them surrender, light, air, comfort, tranquility and energy. Spirituals were sometimes used as secret communication means with hidden codes; besides that there were the work songs sung during the heavy labor in the fields, where the rhythm helped maintain togetherness and tempo.
Countertenor Reginald Mobley is a warm and charismatic presence. With virtuosic vocal technique and perfect timing, he makes the spirituals sound different. No excess or euphoria, but with dynamic control and richness in nuance. He performs in his own way the steadfast faith, the sorrow and the hope for a better life of the enslaved. A performer who radiates in a serene manner. Together with Ashok Gupta he performs mainly works by Harry Thacker Burleigh, an important bridge builder between the spiritual and Western art music. Further the important African American composer Florence Price who integrated the spiritual into her art music and Douglas Balliett, a contemporary American composer who enjoys engaging with diverse musical and cultural-historical influences from religious baroque to romantic song cycles and traditional spirituals. Captivated and with full interest you follow Mobley's vocal acrobatics, which he produces without apparent effort. That man truly possesses a virtuosic vocal technique. At one point he sits hidden behind the piano and sings a capella, with an ethereal timbre 'Balm in Gilead'. Impressive, like a voice in the wilderness. His voice a balm for the soul. The combination of rhythm, melody and his unique voice provided joy, comfort and connection. Both performers got their money's worth. Besides his role as accompanist, Ashok Gupta also played some engaging and contrasting piano solos.
An intimate recital that provided tranquility and oxygen. Top!