Thursday evening, at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur, soprano Ingrid Schmithüsen and pianist Brigitte Poulin gave us an entrancing Schubert and Schoenberg ‘Liederabend’. From Schubert: eleven little known settings of Friedrich Schlegel’s naturalist cycle Abendröte (Twilight). From Schoenberg the cycle Das Buch der hängenden Gärten (The Book Of The Hanging Gardens) based on poems by Stefan Georg. The frail Ingrid Schmithüsen’s voice and vulnerability served, both, the simplicity of Schubert and the anxiety of Schoenberg. Singing everything from memory, this great artist expressed each word, each note, with sensitivity and intelligence. The piano “breathed” along with her. We were spellbound. Such musicianship is a welcomed change from a “music business” congested with mediocrities who are ten times more famous but don’t have half the talent of these two.
Translated from French.
