Concert review: Christine Brewer/Malcolm Martineau

Published on Sunday 5 September 2010 21:20

Christine Brewer/Malcolm Martineau **** Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Soprano Christine Brewer, below, stepped in for the indisposed Susan Graham to present a selection of songs from Europe and her native America with pianist Malcolm Martineau in this recital.

Brewer has a big, powerful voice that filled the hall in Gluck's Divinites du Styx and songs by Richard Strauss. There is a dream-like quality to this material, but while Brewer's voice control and phrasing is outstanding, some of her top notes sounded slightly forced and a little harsh.

The most successful songs were those that stayed predominantly in the lower registers such as Joseph Marx's Holy Night and Richard Hundley's Come Ready and See Me.

In the second half, Brewer chatted to the audience and seemed to visibly relax which brought out the tender and mellow qualities in her voice in songs such as Harold Arlen's Come Rain or Come Shine and I Wonder What Became of Me.

However, the set of six songs favoured as encores by famous Wagnerian singers of the past were interesting snapshots from a bygone era but they would have been better suited to a more intimate venue and were not quite substantial enough to give weight to this half.

The most moving was Paul Sargent's Hickory Hill and the most intriguing If I Could Tell You by Idabella Firestone, the wife of the Firestone Rubber Company founder.

Pianist Martineau's witty and insightful contributions were delightful, never intrusive and always framing Brewer's voice in the best possible light.(Support from Frank Hitchman)