The paths of pianist Babette Craens and mezzo-soprano Herlinde Van de Straete crossed in 2018 at the Koninklijk Conservatorium van Antwerpen, where they formed a song duo. Their shared passion for art songs extends across repertoire from the Romantic period, the 20th century and contemporary music. On May 10, they presented a magnificent four-part song cycle in the MIRY Concertzaal, each part introduced by a piano piece. The duo performed primarily German art songs, along with several French songs by Debussy.
The evening's first theme, "myths", was introduced with Proteus from Makrokosmos I by George Crumb, followed by Trois Chansons de Bilitis by Claude Debussy. Babette's playing sparkled in Proteus, while Herlinde's full, dark voice perfectly matched Debussy's mystical sound world. In composing Makrokosmos, Crumb drew inspiration from, among others, Bartók's Mikrokosmos and Debussy's 24 preludes, making the musical coherence between the piano piece and Debussy's songs even stronger.
Next, they addressed the theme of "dreams" with another work by Crumb from Makrokosmos I: Dream Images. This mysterious work opens darkly, after which short fragments of Chopin's Fantasie-Impromptu offer a moment of drifting off to sleep—but only briefly. The ethereal atmosphere of the Impromptu is abruptly interrupted by Crumb's recurring sound fields. We dream on with the unfortunate Alban Berg. He did not leave behind a gigantic oeuvre in his lifetime, but what he wrote has invariably become standard repertoire. His Vier Gesänge (Opus 2) are no exception. Berg conjures four dream worlds, blending atonal and tonal elements into a dramatic synthesis. Herlinde and Babette performed these songs with utmost care and expression, and especially the last atonal feverish dream, Warm die Lüfte, es spriesst Gras auf sonnigen Wiesen, left a deep impression.
From such melancholic repertoire, the audience needed to recover, so the two friends inserted a cheerful "lighter intermezzo", with Rachmaninoff's Etude Tableaux opus 33 no. 3 for piano and a song by Johannes Brahms: Unbewegte laue Luft. No song evening without Hugo Wolf; from his celebrated Mörike Lieder, Babette and Herlinde performed the charming Um Mitternacht and the stormy Lied vom Winde. In this third part of the evening too, Babette and Herlinde showed themselves at their best—technically masterful, controlled, playful, but also dramatic, with deep affection and great heart for their repertoire.
The evening's final theme is contrasting in nature: "Abendrot". In Maurice Ravel's piano piece Le Gibet (the gallows), from the notorious Gaspard de la nuit, the main character wonders what sound resonates. Only at the end of the piece does it become clear that it is the bells of a village beyond the horizon, where the red evening sky illuminates a macabre scene: the blood of the hanged man on the gallows: "C'est la cloche qui tinte aux murs d'une ville sous l'horizon, et la carcasse d'un pendu que rougit le soleil couchant." It is therefore a very dark piece with a haunting theme, a unique work within Ravel's oeuvre.
Of course, the king of the song could not be missing: with Schubert's Im Abendrot, Babette and Herlinde closed the fourth part—on a cheerful note, or rather with a cynical undertone?
"Whoever says song, says Schubert, Schumann and Wolf. Except for Schumann, pianist Babette Craens and mezzo-soprano Herlinde Van de Straete give you complete justice this evening." At least that's what could be read in the evening's program booklet. A playful wink from the two friends, who ultimately treated the audience to a Schumann song as an encore.
The compact MIRY Concertzaal is the perfect venue for this intimate and convivial performance. Babette and Herlinde presented a wonderfully beautiful performance of fantastic and personal piano and song repertoire—with finesse, expression and craftsmanship. Chapeau!