NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, Utah Museum of Fine Arts Auditorium, Sunday.
Sunday's NOVA Chamber Music Series concert not only was the last of the season, it also marked the end of an era.
After 18 years at the helm, Barbara Scowcroft has decided it is time to step down as the series' music director in order to pursue other activities. She'll continue to be associated with the series as music director emeritus, but beginning with the first concert of the new season in October, Utah Symphony members Corbin Johnston and Noriko Kishi will take over as NOVA's music director and general manager, respectively.
Over the years, NOVA's audiences have come to expect more than just the familiar chamber repertoire. Concerts that explore well-known works haven't been missing from the series, to be sure. But a healthy infusion of the less familiar, often presented in novel ways, has helped define the series.
The large audience in the Utah Museum of Fine Arts auditorium Sunday afternoon was witness to one such imaginative and unique program. Pianist Paul Dorgan, a frequent performer at NOVA, developed a program that delved into musical settings of William Shakespeare. Song settings by Schubert and Richard Strauss were complemented by settings by composers not normally associated with art songs or with Shakespeare. Among the latter were delightful pieces by Haydn, Arthur Honegger, Ernest Chausson, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Gerald Finzi.
Singing this music was a trio of talented local artists — soprano Julie Wright-Costa, tenor Brigham Timpson and baritone David Power. They were accompanied at the piano by Dorgan, who selected the works.
The three soloists gave stunning performances of these wonderful songs. The evening opened with three settings by Schubert — "Horch, horch, die Lerche im Atherblau" (sung by Wright-Costa); "Was ist Silvia" (sung by Timpson); and "Bachus! Feister Furst des Weins" (sung by Power). From this opening set, the three soloists moved easily and naturally through the 21 songs on the program.
There were a few surprises. Settings by the obscure 20th century British composer Roger Quilter and other settings by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Korngold proved to be some of the most charming and delightful pieces of the evening. There was also a song from Cole Porter's "Kiss Me Kate" ("I am asham'd that women are so simple") and Stephen Sondheim ("Fear no more the heat o' th' sun").
Anne Cullimore Decker was the concert's narrator. She read passages by Shakespeare and other poets that dealt with music. Her readings balanced perfectly with the musical side of the program.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com