The Ghent Festivities, 2022 edition, are over. After two corona years, there was no stopping the revelers, who mainly flocked to the city in the evenings. The Ghent Festivities are a major public festival and at the same time a ten-day cultural festival where virtually all genres of music and theater are featured. Unique in Europe, as many performances by often well-known artists on the major squares are completely free.
In the lull of the festive bustle, there are also many classical concerts. Choirs, small ensembles, piano recitals, chamber music, lieder evenings etc. Here is a selection from the dozens of classical concerts and recitals. Small impressions of seven concerts. Two concerts in the Protestant Rabotkerk, two concerts at special locations, two piano recitals in the Miry concert hall and as an outsider a performance of Bulgarian a cappella singing in the Sint Jacobskerk.
Protestant Rabotkerk: Schumann Lieder Evening
The Protestant Rabotkerk is a modest house of prayer where only the stained glass windows remind us of God's presence. White walls that bring us to reflection. On July 16, lieder by Robert and Clara Schumann are on the program. From Robert the cycle Frauenliebe und Leben and from Clara the Sechs Lieder op.13. Soprano Jolien De Gendt sings with Elisaveta Vasileva at the piano. The generous acoustics of this bare church are difficult to reconcile with the intimacy of the lieder, yet the singer manages the performance remarkably well in terms of voice production, phrasing, articulation under these circumstances.
Jolien De Gendt is a coloratura soprano, a soprano with bravura, made for bel canto, to let the phrases and sounds roll in a hall. A sparkling voice, shimmering vibrato. There is perhaps too much brilliance, I think. Doesn't this voice shine too brightly for these intimate lieder? Yet the subtle melancholy in De Gendt's voice comes through. With a whispering diction, she powerfully conveys the poems of Heine and Rückert. You can see that she not only sings but also empathizes intensely with the text through her intense gaze. Pianist Vasileva is her support in the great emotions in the lied cycle. Subtle touch, perfect timing, she is the quiet force behind De Gendt's voice. Soprano Jolien De Gendt is by the way not just any soprano. At this recital too, she was a last-minute substitute. Throughout her entire career, she has stepped in more often than she has been scheduled herself. That gives her recital even more brilliance.
Protestant Rabotkerk: Solo Recital Anton Skakun [violin]
The next evening I am in the same church for a solo recital by Ukrainian violinist Anton Skakun. Works for solo violin by Bach, Paganini and Ysaye. As a violinist, I know what that means. In Bach's solo sonatas, the violin is not merely a melodic instrument. A thoroughly worked-out polyphonic score in which the violinist plays more double stops than single notes. Playing the organ on the violin. Skakun delivers a solid and conscientious interpretation.
Paganini shows us that the violin is more than a simple bowed instrument. On a violin you can not only bow, but also pluck and even whistle. The variations on the theme of Paisiello is a veritable feat of witchcraft where sometimes more is plucked than bowed, pizzicato with fingers of both hands, alternated with the whistle tones of the flageolets. Skakun fills this house of the Lord with Paganini's devilish sounds.
Anton Skakun is not a showman but a craftsman who occasionally wipes the sweat from his face with a towel lying nearby. He has also brought something from his own ravaged country. For some time now we have known that Ukraine also lies in Europe and Western Ukraine historically was also part of Central Europe. The caprice by Myroslav Skoryk is a fine piece, an echo from the Central European tradition of Bartók and all that has followed from it. As a playful finale, Skakun plays an arrangement for solo violin of some Tango etudes by Astor Piazzola. They showcase the versatility of this upright virtuoso once more.
Anton Skakun has been in Belgium for about a decade, plays first violin with the Brussels Philharmonic. "Would every member of the first violin section be able to play like this?", I ask him afterwards. He smiles indulgently and thanks me for the compliment.
Schumann Lieder Evening
- WHO: Jolien De Gendt [soprano], Elisaveta Vasileva [piano]
- WHAT: Ghent Festivities: Concert Jolien De Gendt & Elisaveta Vasileva
- WHERE: Protestant Rabotkerk
- WHEN: Saturday July 16, 2022 at 7:30 PM
Solo Recital Anton Skakun
- WHO: Anton Skakun [violin]
- WHAT: Ghent Festivities: Concert Anton Skakun
- WHERE: Protestant Rabotkerk
- WHEN: Sunday July 17, 2022 at 7:00 PM
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