Poised, powerful and in possession of excellent diction, bass-baritone Eric Owens knows how to make an impression.
In a rare song recital, Owens and pianist Robert Spano — who is perhaps better known as the new music director of the Aspen Music Festival and School — made their debut with the Friends of Chamber Music on Wednesday.
While Owens filled the stage at Gates Concert Hall with his imposing presence and voluminous voice, Spano proved himself a keen listener and instinctive interpreter who is equally at home as accompanist and collaborator.
In Hugo Wolf’s “Drei Lieder nach Gedichten von Michelangelo,” the duo immediately established a controlled tension in their performance, thereby creating a close intimacy with each other and the audience. Careful not to give away too much, too soon, Owens and Spano were wonderfully understated in their delivery of the somber, smoldering songs, thereby keeping the audience rapt.
Likewise, in Robert Schumann’s “Mein Herz ist Schwer,” the twosome masterfully balanced sound, silence and space within the music, which produced a profoundly emotional effect.
After intermission, the varied program continued with a trio of poignant, lyrical love songs by Claude Debussy as well as two works by his countryman and musical contemporary, Henri Duparc. Most compelling, however, was Owens’ take on Richard Wagner’s “Les deux grendaiers,” which was delivered with all the heft and heartbreak one might imagine in the story of two French soldiers who learn of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.
To lighten the mood, Owens showed off his theatrical side in a trio of songs – “Don Quichotte … Dulcinée” — by Maurice Ravel. The versatile singer was particularly witty and winsome in his interpretation of “Chanson … boire,” a drinking song.
The encore – “Music for a While,” Henry Purcells’ incidental music to John Dryden’s and Nathaniel Lee’s play “Oedipus” — was a fitting conclusion to the overall reflective, refined and beautifully executed program.
The next Friends of Chamber Music concert is March 22 featuring French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard.
