l 1 l 2 l 3 l 4 l 5 l 6 l

Basellandschaftliche Zeitung of January 24th  2006 - by Fabian Kristmann
Touching, Lyrical Songs 
GARE DU NORD / Tenor Keith Lewis and guitarist Christoph Denoth gave quite an unusual lieder recital. Lewis’ pleasantly reserved voice perfectly blended with the guitar into a performance of intimate allure.

BASEL. Keith Lewis is a celebrated tenor and guest on opera and concert stages all over the world. The Basel public probably best remembers him for his rendering of Idomeneo at the Basel theatre five years ago. The born New Zealander also regularly performs as a singer of lieder though. His recital at Gare du Nord proved to be a doubly unconventional lieder evening: on the one hand because of the programme that – with the sole exception of some Schubert pieces – did entirely without the traditional works of Classic or Romantic music and focused on Purcell, Britten, and de Falla instead; on the other hand because he was, for once, not accompanied by a pianist on a grand piano but by a guitarist; no solid bass or lush harmonies supported the singer but the more intimate, light sound of guitarist Christoph Denoth – an element that stimulated and challenged the audience’s listening habits above all to begin with.

Baroque Emotions and Haunting Gloom 
The evening began with three pieces by Henry Purcell. Lewis, whose smooth tenor was neither pressed into service, nor forced and, partly, almost showed the qualities of a countertenor, remained relaxed throughout, even in the highest pitches, and remained wonderfully smooth and never drowned out Denoth’s consistently virtuoso handling of the guitar strings. He successfully dared tonal expressions and interpretations, for instance in the aria What power art thou of the Frost Scene of the opera King Arthur, and gave a virtuoso rendering of Baroque emotion, though his vibrato was a bit overpowering on occasion. In the five Schubert lieder, Lewis convinced by his highly differentiated dynamics – above all in the range between mezzoforte and pianissimo – and moreover presented an easily understood text, while the famous Meeresstille after Goethe represented in its reduced and almost haunting gloominess one of the highlights of the evening. They concluded the first part of the recital with two short and not entirely serious Lute Songs by Benjamin Britten. Christoph Denoth wrote the guitar transcription of the accompaniment, the same as the preceding ones.
After the break, once again Britten: his six Songs from the Chinese of 1957, based on the English translations of the Chinese lyrics, also provide for a piano accompaniment in the original. In spite of the rather bizarre moment, which is part of the verses as well as the instrumental voice, Lewis did not exaggerate and use too extravagant a text interpretation but largely kept to his subtle, lyrical interpretation.
His approach to the Siete canciones populares españolas written in 1912 by Manuel de Falla was similar: the prevalent, rather melancholic mood created some touchingly wistful moments. In spite of all their agility, Lewis and Denoth were however mostly restrained in their approaches. The sole exception was the last piece, whose explosive passion put an energetic punch line under this unusual and impressive lieder recital.
The musicians thanked the enthusiastic reception by the large audience who had come to listen to them by playing two (short) encores.