by Marvin J. Ward

Holyoke, MA, 18 October 2009.  It is entirely appropriate that a program of French music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries such as might have been played in the Paris salon of the Princesse de Polignac, née Winaretta Singer, should take place in Belle Skinner’s Music Room at her Holyoke home Wistariahurst.  Belle, too, had spent some time, and some of her inherited fortune in France: she sponsored the reconstruction of an entire village after WW I.

Winnaretta (the French spell it with 2 ‘n’s) Singer (1865-1943) was 1 of the 24 children (by 3 wives and several mistresses, 1 of whom produced 10; she was the 3rd of 6 from the 3rd marriage) of Isaac Singer (1811-1873), inventor of the sewing machine.  In 1893, she married the Prince Edmond de Polignac (1834-1901), an impoverished French nobleman in search of a fortune, when she was in search of a respected social status, after divorcing, in 1891, her 1st husband, Louis, Prince de Scey Montbéliard, whom she had married in 1887.

Her father had been avidly interested in the theatre; she became avidly interested in the fine arts, especially music, and collected acquaintances, even friendships with composers and musicians.  She met Fauré in 1880, and they remained close for many years; she and Poulenc were also especially close.  In 1928, she created the Singer-Polignac Foundation, which today occupies her home and continues to support her interest in music.  Its music room, still in use for recitals, is a size similar to, though a different shape from, Wistariahurst’s.  Winnaretta was herself a pianist and organist, as well as a painter; she bought paintings to give to the Louvre, whose catalogues she translated into English.  She learned Greek after she was 50.

This afternoon’s program was a sampling of works by some of the composers whom she knew and whose work she supported with gifts and commissions using her fortune, a veritable Who’s Who of big names, although others such as Ravel were not represented.  It began with 2 works by Fauré: the Pavane in f#, Op. 50, in its original form with chorus (It was also choreographed for its 2nd performance a few days after its première.), performed by the full ensemble conducted by Jane Hanson, and the Berceuse, Op. 16, arranged for flute and harp, played by Maria Scotera and Franziska Huhn respectively.  Next came a set of works by Debussy: a song, “Nuit d’étoiles,” performed by soprano Jennifer Tyo accompanied by Huhn; a prelude, “Bruyères,” Bk II/5, played by Edward Rosser; 2 more songs, “Beau Soir” and “Mandoline,” performed by baritone David Perkins and pianist Monica Jakuc Leverett; and the Petite Pièce for clarinet and piano, played by David Schneider and Jakuc Leverett respectively.

The 1st half concluded with 2 works by Falla: the Dance of the Corregidor from The three-Cornered Hat, played by Huhn, and Siete canciones populares españolas, sung by mezzo-soprano Hanson accompanied by pianist Estela Olevsky.  After intermission with refreshments in the conservatory, the 2nd half opened with 3 works by Satie arranged for guitar, played by William Ghezzsi, and wind instruments: the Gymnopédie No. 1 for flute (Scotera), the Gnossienne No. 1 for bassoon (Rebecca Eldredge) and Gymonpédie No. 3, also for flute (Scotera again).

These were followed by 5 songs from Poulenc’s 9-song cycle Tel Jour, Telle Nuit, sung by tenor Peter Shea, accompanied by Jakuc Leverett.  Next came 2 works by Stravinsky: Three Pieces for Clarinet Solo, performed by Schneider, and Tango, played by Olevsky.  The closing work was Satie’s La Belle Excentrique for piano 4-hands, played by Jakuc Leverett and Olevsky, a treat to hear both at the same keyboard.  Performers playing in the Pavane but not in other works were violinists Amy Bateman and Amanda Burr, violist Anna Griffis, cellist Liz Beloit Crew, oboist Kirsten Lipkens, hornist Catherine Hill, and tenor Matthew Jaquith.

Texts and translation of all the songs, but not the Pavane, were provided in large print on 11” x 17” sheets folded in half, perhaps a bit extravagant, and there were a few typos.  The simple single 8” x 9” sheet glossy card stock program folded tall was attractive and classy.  The outside, in color, included reproductions of photos Leon Bakst’s painting of Nijinsky in costume for Debussy’s L’après-midi d’un faune (un-credited) on the front and of Winnaretta Singer and Wisteriahurst’s Music Room on the back.

Chamber Music at Wistariahurst’s artistic director David Perkins always puts together interesting programs and gathers together fine musicians, both professional and amateur who have training but do not make their living in music.  All the performances were first class, but the highlight was perhaps Hanson and Olevsky’s performance of Falla’s Siete canciones populares españolas, which Hanson sang from memory, in spite of the piano key that stuck and would not allow repeated striking.  The 2 Fauré works were particularly lovely, and Tyo and Huhn’s performance of Debussy’s “Nuit d’étoiles” was ethereal, the use of the harp instead of piano giving it a special charm.