Flowers, Manners, Devotions

FORCES: contralto, baroque violin, harpsichord, other continuo players

Pieces for the pairing of violin and alto are fairly rare, possibly because of range considerations, but the combination seems to inspire a mood of beautifully winsome contemplation in the composers who approach it. From Caldara’s sprightly meditation on the humility of violets to Bach’s humorous juxtaposition of difficulty and simplicity in the process of picking roses, works for violin and alto seem to channel an uncommon degree of lightness, ease, and interest. In keeping with this spirit, included on the program are some of Haydn’s arrangements of Scottish folk songs (with focus on personalities!) and Jordan Rutter’s arrangements of Dowland songs for violin, alto, and continuo, commissioned for this project, as well as pieces for solo and duet combinations within the ensemble that offer even more variety!

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Biography

American contralto Sara Couden is a premiere interpreter of opera, oratorio, chamber music, and art song. Praised by Opera News for her “unusually rich and resonant” voice, Sara has thrilled audiences worldwide on stages including the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and St. Petersburg Opera. Her vast operatic and concert repertoire encompasses works spanning six centuries of musical history, ranging in style from terrifying to tragic, sacred to sacrilegious, commanding to comedic.

Sara is an indefatigable champion of art song repertoire and sought-after recitalist. She brings a profound love of language and a deep respect for the intimate conversation between singer and pianist to every song she interprets. A true collaborator, Sara relishes any opportunity to explore, reflect upon and respond to the piano’s broad range of expressive possibilities, bringing art songs to life with her own palette of colors and vocal effects. She has been featured in recital at Lincoln Center, the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, the Staunton Music Festival, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the Brooklyn Art Song Society, among others.

This recording marks Sara’s debut interpretation of the music of Arthur Schnabel. “The tonality Schnabel employs in his art songs is complex and often challenging for both singer and pianist, but I find his approach to his texts to be extremely delicate and beautiful. The range of feelings he evokes in the poems he sets about nature, love, and memory is incredible: the subject matter is narrow, but the nuance he finds in each poem, and then illuminates so specifically in each setting, makes his songs both richly varied and very human – an extremely impressive poetic and musical achievement. It isn’t every composer who works so intimately with the essence of his or her text. He always tells the story of the poem with directness, power, and a creativity stemming from sensitive comprehension. Despite the developing sophistication of Schnabel’s compositional style and harmonic language as his life and career progressed, his intense dedication to his texts ensures that the heart of his songs never falters.”

Sara is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Program at the Metropolitan Opera and earned a master’s degree with Honors in Opera from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Sara is also an early music enthusiast and holds an A.D. in Early Music, Chamber Music, and Oratorio from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music.