Chamber breathes life into Debussy

INTERMEZZO CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, Vieve Gore Concert Hall, Westminster College, Aug. 2.

Claude Debussy wrote in all genres, but his song output is fairly small. Even so, his vocal pieces are significant in the French song repertoire.

These pieces are almost never heard in Salt Lake City, but one of Debussy's most stunning song cycles, "Chansons des Bilitis," was on Monday's Intermezzo Chamber Music Series concert in Vieve Gore Concert Hall.

Before the cycle, which was sung by mezzo-soprano Kirsten Gunlogson, accompanied by the very pregnant Kimi Kawashima on piano, Utah Symphony associate flutist Lisa Byrnes played Debussy's "Syrinx" offstage to set the mood and atmosphere for the songs that followed. (A syrinx, or pan pipes, is referenced in the first of the three "Bilitis" songs.)

The cycle is evocative and sensual and revels in the colors and sonorities of the rich descriptiveness of the poems with some of the most voluptous music Debussy wrote. It's a masterpiece of French impressionism, and Gunlogson and Kawashima certainly gave a luminous reading.

Gunlogson's warm mezzo is wonderfully suited to these songs, and her interpretation was striking. She sang them as if she owned them. And Kawashima offered sensitive support. Their collaboration was intuitive, and they captured the broad palette of expressions and the inherent lyricism of each of the three songs.

Flutes, both literally and figuratively, figured prominently at Monday's concert.

The second half opened with American composer Christopher Theofanidis' "Kaoru" for two flutes, played by Byrnes and Utah Symphony colleague Caitlyn Valovick Moore.

"Kaoru" is a melodic piece with both flute parts interweaving seamlessly around each other. The duo captured the fluidity of the music with their lyrical playing.

The concert opened and closed with works for woodwind quintet.

Gy?gy Ligeti's Six Bagatelles got things rolling. The Bagatelles are the composer's reworking of 11 pieces he wrote for piano. It's an early work that shows how Ligeti was indebted to his older countryman Béla Bartók. And there is actually a movement that is a tribute to Bartók — the most intense and gripping of the six movements.

Symphony colleagues Moore, oboist James Hall, hornist Ron Beitel and bassoonist Lori Wike, joined by guest clarinetist John Masserini, gave a compelling reading that was nuanced and brought cohesion to the work as a whole.

The final work was Carl Nielsen's Wind Quintet, op. 43, played by Byrnes, Masserini, Beitel, Wike and symphony principal oboist Robert Stephenson. They captured the lightness and lyricism of the work wonderfully with their radiant playing.

e-mail: ereichel@desnews.com