With her dulcet soprano voice, Lisa Tamagini presented a collection of European opera-style music last Saturday night at the faculty voice recital, accompanied on the piano by Christopher Walter, Instructor in Music. Tamagini is a soprano singer and a member of Andover’s voice faculty. The recital featured a collection of many vocal pieces by composers Samuel Barber, Ernest Chausson, Reynaldo Hahn, Gustav Mahler and Francis Poulenc, all sung in different languages including French and German. Many of Tamagini’s students attended the concert and were eager to hear her sing. Her performance exceeded the expectations of the audience. Sirus Han ’13 said, “I was really excited to hear [Tamagini] sing.” Tamagini’s emotive singing, smooth vocal transitions and controlled soprano voice along with the carefully accented piano resounded throughout the chapel. Julianna Wessels ’12 said, “It [was] amazing when [Tamagini] hit the high notes, and even when she stopped, the whole room [was] ringing.” Wessels continued, “Her voice can also be soulful and is thus very versatile.” Audience members most appreciated the vocal poem “Figure de Force Brûlante et Farouche,” a part of Poulenc’s nine-poem composition “Tel Jour Telle Nuit.” The piece started off in a vivace tempo, lively and fast, then suddenly broke, introducing a slow adagio tempo, while the tune of the piano mirrored the vocals. The break at the end of the piece, with the gentle ringing of Tamagini’s voice, amazed the audience, as Tamagini demonstrated her powerful but perfect control. The theme of “Tel Jour Telle Nuit” is that love transcends flaws such as selfishness. Tamagini captured the dominant, somber atmosphere of the piece. Adam Brody ’14 said, “[Tamagini had] a controlled, operatic, strong and classical voice.” In the second part of the recital, Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” Tamagini’s favorite piece, proved to be an audience favorite as well. The rich rhapsody began with the description of a warm summer’s evening. Several sections later, the tempo became more intense and vigorous to symbolize chaos. Throughout the piece, the occasional transitions to a staccato allegro tempo also served to create a dream-like atmosphere. Tamagini perfectly expressed the change in tempo to emphasize certain transitions of events in the piece, such as the moment when the warm summer evening turns into a description of a streetcar raising its iron moan. Tamagini’s ability to not only reach the highest note with ease in “Knoxville: Summer of 1915,” a B-flat, but also to control her voice to fade and yet still be clear, reinforced the dreamlike quality of the piece. The closing piece, Mahler’s “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,” ended on a low and gentle note that slowly reverberated throughout the chapel, leaving the audience relaxed and amazed. Tamagini said that she was happy with the recital. “[I] commend Andover for reaching out to the community in this way,” she said. Tamagini’s advice to student singers is to reach out and get help from teachers. “One needs a solid teacher to have good ears to help develop [one’s] talent, confidence and the love for what you’re doing,” she said. Tamagini’s voice recital not only provided students with a learning opportunity; it also allowed students to experience music in a less formal setting. For all aspiring singers, attendance at carefully prepared recitals like Saturday’s is an enlightening and rewarding experience.
