Art Song Canberra
Ayse Gӧknur Shanal,
soprano
Alan Hicks, piano
Wesley Music Centre
25 February
Reviewed by Len Power
When a concert leaves you feeling excited and energised for
hours afterwards, you know it was an exceptionally good one. That was the feeling following Art Song
Canberra’s concert with the delightful and talented soprano Ayse Gӧknur Shanal
accompanied superbly by Alan Hicks on piano.
Ayse has won many prestigious awards and scholarships here
in Australia and overseas. She has
appeared in principal roles with Opera Australia and Turkish State Opera and
has performed with most of the state symphony orchestras in Australia.
The program gave Ayse the opportunity to display the full
range of her beautifully clear soprano voice.
It’s a powerful voice and she gave the impression that she still had
plenty of power to spare. It would be
great to hear her in a large venue.
The program commenced with a set of Turkish and Armenian
Folk Songs. The songs demand a strong
technique to sing them well and Ayse was more than equal to the task. These folk songs cover a wide range of
emotions and were a perfect showcase for the singer. Alan Hicks accompanied the singer
superbly. It must have been quite a
challenge to play these works with their unfamiliar and often complex driving
rhythms.
The full program included Gypsy songs by Dvořák and works by
three Russian composers. The Dvořák songs
suited her voice and abilities admirably and Ayse was particularly impressive
singing ‘What I secretly dream about’ by Rimsky-Korsakov, ‘Wild Nights, Secret
Nights’ by Tchaikovsky and ‘Spring Waters’ by Rachmaninov. She sings the emotional content of these
songs so genuinely that she draws you deeply into the music.
As well as being a fine singer, Ayse gave interesting and
heart-felt details about the songs and her reasons for singing them. As well as a having a fine voice, she has a gift
for embracing an audience with her down to earth and endearing manner. This was an excellent first concert for 2018
for Art Song Canberra.
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 26 February 2018.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7’s new ‘On Stage’ program on Mondays from
3.30pm and on ‘Artcetera’ from 9.00am on Saturdays.
