Word: janes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...motet Ave Verum came off very well. The celebrated "Dissonant" Quartet suffered at the hands of the Cambridge Quartet from raggedness and faulty violin intonation. If only all the players had been up to 'cellist Charles Forbes! The group has done much better in the past. Sarah-Jane Smith the concert's featured soloist, singing four works in four languages. Well-trained and agile voice, but tone tended to be too breathy. Most noteworthy was Ch'io mi scordi te?, one of those demanding "concert arias" that are in effect extensive, multisectional operatic scenes for one person...
...only two singing characters, the master of a house and his young maid. As the master, a better choice than Jonathan Levy would be difficult to imagine. His big voice masters the part's large range, and his expressions are marvellously comic without being overdone. As the maid, Sara-Jane Smith looks and sings very prettily, indeed. Their two duets are among the finest comic music of all time. This is a performance that shouldn't be missed...
Greenebaum's skill as a conductor was most apparent in Haydn's Trumpet Concerto in E flat. He kept a careful series of balances between orchestral sections, while giving a firm and yet compliant accompaniment to the soloist. Trumpeter Jane Rogers played the difficult concerto with great skill. Beyond merely getting the notes correctly, a task in itself, she displayed a shimmering tone. At forte, her tone was never strident, and she also was able to play marvelously softly. It was a rare example of great musicianship on the trumpet, whose practitioners are usually content to dazzle their audiences with...
...voice lacked support, volume, and depth; and his breath control was insufficient to sustain the phrases. The other cantata, Wachet auf (No. 140), fared better. The chorus, numbering only twelve, was well trained by Edward Lloyd, and bass soloist Thomas Beveridge sang with feeling. The soprano soloist was Sara-Jane Smith, who added one more concert to her list of impressive performances. There is commonly a distinction between "musicians" and "singers", but Miss Smith is obviously both. She has an exciting lyrical voice and a sensitive way of spinning a phrase that make it always a pleasure to listen...
Beautiful and sad, the Lamente Della Ninfa, sung by Sarah-Jane Smith, the Nymph, and a supporting Chorus including Malcolm Ticknor, John Crawford, and Thomas Beveridge. Miss Smith interpreted her plaintive melodies very expressively, while the deep-voiced Chorus provided rich contrast. The form of this work, that of a Greek Play in miniature, is truly Renaissance, but the feeling is so direct and unrestrained as to anticipate later eras...