Asitha and Eshantha perform Schumann’s Dichterliebe and other well-loved European art songs

Friday, 15 August 2014 01:36 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Tenor Asitha Tennekoon and pianist Eshantha Peiris have had several successful collaborations over the last few years. The duo will work together once more in presenting a song recital this weekend, and it may be some time before local audiences get to hear them again as they are expected to leave the country for further studies in the coming weeks. The song recital will feature works by several different composers. The main focus of the evening however, will be the famous song cycle by Robert Schumann: ‘Dichterliebe’ (The Poet’s Love). The work consists of 16 poems by the great German poet Heinrich Heine, which were set to music by Robert Schumann. The work was composed in 1840 which was a very eventful year for the composer. Schumann and his beloved, Clara Wieck fought and won a lengthy legal battle in order to marry without the consent of Clara’s father. In that year Schumann also composed about 140 songs, one third of the total output of vocal music during his lifetime. Up until 1840 Schumann’s compositions were primarily for piano. Therefore it’s natural for many to make a connection between the hard fought romantic victory and his newfound inspiration for song. Others however dismiss the legal victory as a creative catalyst by saying that it was only natural for Schumann to take the next step in his compositional evolution from instrumental music to vocal writing. The ‘Dichterliebe’ cycle does not tell a narrative story. However the songs are thematically connected, focusing very much on unrequited love and the various stages of falling in love, facing rejection, being immersed in obsession, and finally finding the strength to let go. The rest of the evening will consist of well loved art songs by composers such as Duparc, Vaughan Williams, Richard Strauss, Ivor Gurney, and Reynaldo Hahn. The concert will be held on Saturday, 16 August, from 7:30-8:30pm at the Goethe-Institut, No. 39 Gregory’s Road Colombo 07. Tickets priced at Rs.1,000 are available at the venue.