Florestan Recital Project: Championing the Art of the Song Recital

Past Seasons & Programs

2005-2006 Season

A Moveable Feast

Aperitif - October 16, 2005
Les Entrées - October 24, 2005
Les Plats - January 29, 2006
Assortiment de Fromages Affinés - April 24, 2006
Les Dessert - June 2-4, 2006

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”—Ernest Hemingway

When American expatriate writer Ernest Hemingway wrote this in 1964, he coined a phrase for 20th century Paris that would resonate through decades of cultural history. Throughout the 20th century, Paris played host to a wide array of painters, poets, writers, and musicians, many of whom became important innovators in their fields. Paris was also a vital catalyst for many countries’ most important composers, and provided inspiration and guidance for the Americas, Spain, and many other regions to develop musical cultures of their own.

For our 5th season, Florestan Recital Project will celebrate this “moveable feast” in many ways. As we bring our survey of Francis Poulenc’s complete songs to a close, we explore the ways in which Poulenc, his friends, and his many inspirations have created a never-ending feast of music to enjoy. Please join us for our many concerts and events listed below, and bon appetit!

Aperitif
“Foreign Influences: The Melting Pot of Poulenc’s Paris”
Sunday, October 16 at 4:00 p.m
(view program)

This concert presents songs of Poulenc inspired by Poland (Huit Chansons Polonaises and Mazurka) and Spain (Trois Chansons de Garcia-Lorca, A sa guitare, and Toreador). Program also includes songs by Frédéric Chopin, Manuel de Falla (Siete Canciones Populares Espanolas), Richard Wagner (three early French songs), and the rarely-heard Peruvian composer Andres Sas. As a special treat, pianist Scott Nicholas and soprano Jessica Cooper will end the concert with a Piazzolla tango for piano and voice.

Featuring artists Jessica Cooper, soprano; Scott Nicholas, piano; Alison d'Amato, piano; Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano.

Les Entrées
“Degas’s Paris”
Monday, October 24 at 6:30 p.m.
Harvard University’s Fogg Museum of Art, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, Calderwood Courtyard.
(view program)

In conjuction with the Fogg Museum’s Degas at Harvard exhibit, Florestan presents a concert of songs from Degas’s world, evoking images of dancers and Parisian cafes that were such vivid inspirations in his work. The program will include songs by a wide range of composers—Debussy, Faure, Chabrier, Gounod, Massenet, Wagner, Berlioz, Chausson, Bizet, and Stephen Paulus.

Featuring artists Aaron Engebreth, baritone; Alison d'Amato, piano; Joe Dan Harper, tenor; Anne Kissel Harper, piano.

Les Plats
“Apollinaire’s Paris”
Sunday, January 29 at 4 p.m.
(view program)

This concert explores the rich confluences of literature and music that occurred in Paris from the mid-19th through the 20th centuries. The partnership between Poulenc and the poet Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) produced some of the most well-known and affecting songs in the French repertoire, and mirrored the collaborations between other composers and writers that called Paris their artistic home. The program includes wonderful Poulenc-Apollinaire works (Banalités, Caligrammes, Deux Poèmes, Quatre Poèmes, Parisiana, and “Montparnasse”), as well as several American composers’ settings of texts by expatriate writers James Joyce and Gertrude Stein. Also on the program is Samuel Barber’s stirring French dedication to Poulenc and Pierre Bernac, Mélodies Passagères.

Featuring artists Alan Schneider, tenor; Anne Kissel Harper, piano; Janna Baty, mezzo-soprano; Alison d’Amato, piano; David Kravitz, baritone.

Assortiment de Fromages Affinés
“Songs from Childhood”
Monday, April 24 at 7 p.m.
Concert Room at the Boston Conservatory
(view program)

In keeping with the spirit of this premiere, Florestan delves into the playful, childlike repertoire of a vast array of composers: Poulenc (4 Songs for Children, Chansons villageoises, Deux mélodies), Stravinsky (The Owl and the Pussycat), Mussorgsky (The Nursery), Brahms (Kindervolkslieder), and John McDonald (4 Songs from The Creatures Choir).

Featuring artists Jessica Bowers, mezzo soprano; Aaron Engebreth, baritone; Amanda Forsythe, soprano; John McDonald, piano; Linda Osborn-Blaschke, piano; Karl Paulnack, piano.

and we hope you saved room for...

Les Dessert
FrancisFest
June 2-4
St. Paul's Church in Brookline, MA

Concert #1
Friday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m. (view program)

Concert #2
Saturday, June 3 at 3 p.m. (view program)

Concert #3
Sunday, June 4 at 3 p.m. (view program)

Concert #4
Sunday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m. (view program)

Join us for a weekend filled with sumptuous song and food as we present the complete songs of Poulenc in their entirety. This three-concert event will bring back many of Florestan’s dynamic artists to recap their signature Poulenc performances, celebrating Poulenc’s remarkable legacy of beauty, humor, spirituality, and grace.