The paths of pianist Babette Craens and mezzo-soprano Herlinde Van de Straete crossed in 2018 at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, where they formed a song duo. Their shared passion for lieder spans repertoire from the Romantic era, the 20th century, and contemporary music. On May 10, they performed a magnificent four-part song cycle in the MIRY Concert Hall, each section introduced by a piano piece. The duo performed primarily German lieder, along with some 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 shone brilliantly in Proteus, while Herlinde's full, dark voice blended perfectly with Debussy's mystical sonic world. When composing Makrokosmos Crumb was inspired by, among others, Bartók's Mikrokosmos and Debussy's 24 Preludes, thereby strengthening the musical connection between the piano piece and Debussy's songs.
Next, they took on the theme "dreams " with another work by Crumb from Makrokosmos I: Dream Images. This mysterious work opens darkly, after which brief fragments of Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu offer a moment of reverie—but only a fleeting one. The dreamy atmosphere of the Impromptu is abruptly interrupted by Crumb's recurring sound fields. We continue dreaming with the unfortunate Alban Berg. He did not leave behind a gigantic body of work in his lifetime, but what he wrote has invariably become standard repertoire. His Four Songs (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 final atonal fevered dream, Warm the air, grass sprouts on sunny meadows, left a deep impression.
From such melancholic repertoire, the audience needs to recover, and so the two friends added a clever "lighter intermezzo," with for piano, Rachmaninoff's Étude Tableaux opus 33 number 3 and a song by Johannes Brahms: Gentle, lukewarm air. No song recital without Hugo Wolf, from his celebrated Mörike Lieder, Babette and Herlinde performed the delightful At Midnight and the tempestuous Song of the Wind. In the third part of the evening too, Babette and Herlinde showed themselves at their best, technically, controlled, playful, yet also dramatic, loving with a great heart for their repertoire.
The final theme of the evening is contrasting in nature: "Evening Red." In Maurice Ravel's piano piece Le Gibet (the gallows), from the notorious Gaspard de la nfrom, the protagonist wonders what sound is ringing out. Only at the end of the piece does it become clear that it is the bells of a village further away, where the red evening sky illuminates a macabre scene: the blood of the hanged man at the gallows: "It is the bell that rings at the walls of a city beyond the horizon, and the carcass of a hanged man reddened by the setting sun." It is indeed a very dark piece with a haunting theme, a unique work within Ravel's oeuvre.
Of course, the king of the art song could not be missing: with Schubert's "Im Abendrot," Babette and Herlinde closed the fourth act—on a cheerful note, or rather with a cynical undertone? "When you mention art songs, you mention Schubert, Schumann, and Wolf. With the exception of Schumann, pianist Babette Craens and mezzo-soprano Herlinde Van de Straete prove you completely right this evening." At least, that's what you could read in the program notes. A playful wink from the two friends, who ultimately treated the audience to a Schumann art song as an encore anyway. The intimate MIRY Concert Hall is the perfect venue for this cozy and charming performance. Babette and Herlinde delivered a wonderfully beautiful rendition of fantastic and personal piano and art song repertoire—with finesse, expression, and craftsmanship. Bravo!
Babette Craens Herlinde Van de Straete
Miry Concert Hall
