Richard Wagner didn’t usually do small-scale. His operas are immense, his singers are as big as their voices, his orchestra is huge. Now and again, though, he wrote on a more human scale, notably in his songs for voice and piano. His Wesendonck Lieder, written for a married woman with whom he was infatuated, are well-known. The rest are almost never heard, so the London Song Festival decided to embellish Wagner’s bicentenary year with a rare survey of the whole lot.
There were hints of drawing-room melody and traces of bel canto, on both of which idioms Wagner would later pour scorn, and occasional forewarnings of things to come. Soprano Elisabeth Meister and bass-baritone Matthew Hargreaves found ample drama even in the most intimate pieces. Meister’s voice had its wild moments, and there have been more refined accounts of the Wesendonck songs but there was no lack of emotional engagement. By contrast, Hargreaves was occasionally stolid but with genuine Wagnerian weight, sometimes more than the material merited.
There was even a Melodrama, in the original sense of speech over music, which Meister delivered with a large dose of Melodrama, in the modern sense. Throughout, Nigel Foster, the festival’s director, provided efficient piano accompaniment. No revelations, then, but a few pieces worth hearing more than once every 100 years.
Festival continues until June 11. londonsongfestival.org
