KPFA-FM Music Dept. ➔ A Visit With Povla Frijsh (1953), 1 of 2

Analog Audio

Event Type

Interview and Music

Origin

KPFA

Identifier

C.1953.09.28.A

Program Length

96 min

Part

1 of 2

Dates

1953-09-28 | broadcast
| 1953-03-07 | created

Description

Recorded on March 7, 1953, this is an interview by Americo Chiarito with Povla Frijsh, one of the finest art song interpreters of the early 20th century. Following this historical conversation, selected recorded works illustrating Ms. Frijsh’s mastery of the art song are heard, as well as a smaller selection of art songs performed by Lorri Lail. Paula Frisch (she later changed the spelling of her last name), was born in Denmark in 1881, the daughter of a physician. She first studied piano and musical theory at the Copenhagen Conservatory before going on to study singing with Jean Périer and Sarah de Lalande in Paris. She toured thought Europe and the United States and was often accompanied by pianist Alfred Cortot. Ms. Frijsh occasionally appeared on the operatic stage and during World War I she gained popularity for singing for the French soldiers. In 1940 she came to New York City where she taught at Juilliard and continued to perform and was widely recognized as a master in the art of expression and for the delicate feeling she had for style, and was particularly famous as an interpreter of French songs. As she reveals in this interview, in her conception of the art song, the singer serves the composer and the poet, and not they the singer, and that those with too opulent a voice often fail to properly interpret a composer’s work. Lorri Lail, who is heard at the end of this program, was a talented mezzo-soprano born in Oslo, Norway, to French and Irish parents. She studied in Berlin until fleeing at the start of World War II. Ms. Lail mastered a large repertory spanning seven different languages and was equally comfortable performing works from the 18th to 20th century.

Genres

Art songs
Classical music

Musical Selections

Die Stadt, D. 957, No. 11 [text by Heinrich Heine] (1828) (2:23) / Franz Schubert -- Gruppe Aus Dem Tartarus, D. 396 [text by Friedrich Schiller] (1816) (3:53) / Franz Schubert -- Mein Schöner Stern, Op. 101, No. 4 [text by Friedrich Rückert] (1849) (2:27) / Robert Schumann -- Schöne Fremde, Op. 39, No. 6 [text by Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff] (1840) (1:06) / Robert Schumann -- Viel Glück zur Reise, Schwalben, Op. 104, No. 2 [ text by Elisabeth Kulmann] (1851) (0:54) / Robert Schumann -- Infidélité [text by Théophile Gautier] (1891) (2:35) / Reynaldo Hahn -- Mandoline [text by Paul Verlaine] (1901) (1:58) / Gabriel Dupont -- Le Manoir de Rosemonde [text by Robert de Bonnières] (1879) (2:19) / Henri Duparc -- Dans la Forêt du Charme et de L’enchantement, Op. 36, No. 2 [text by Jean Moréas] (1898) (2:08) / Ernest Chausson -- Automne, Op. 18, No. 3 [text by Armand Silvestre] (1878) (2:42) / Gabriel Fauré --Le Secret, Op. 23, No. 3 [text by Armand Silvestre] (1881) (1:40) / Gabriel Fauré -- Nell, Op. 18, No. 1 [text by Leconte de Lisle] (1878) (1:51) / Gabriel Fauré -- Le Paon [from “Histoires Naturelles,” text by Jules Renard] (1906) (4:23) / Maurice Ravel

Performers

Heinrich Schlusnus, baritone (Die Stadt)
Franz Rupp, piano (Die Stadt)
Povla Frijsh, soprano (all, except where noted)
Celius Dougherty, piano (Mein ; Viel ; Infidélité ; Manoir ; Dans ; Automne ; Secret ; Paon)

Subjects

19th century classical
20th century classical
Art songs
Songs
Songs (Medium voice) with piano
Songs (High voice) with piano

Related places

Berkeley (Calif.) (was recorded at)
Berkeley (Calif.) (was broadcast at)

Related Entities

Federico, Americo
Frijsh, Povla, 1881-1960
Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828
Heine, Heinrich, 1797-1856
Schiller, Friedrich, 1759-1805
Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856
Rückert, Friedrich, 1788-1866
Eichendorff, Joseph, Freiherr von, 1788-1857
Kulmann, Elisabeth, 1808-1825
Kulʹman, Elisaveta, 1808-1825
Hahn, Reynaldo, 1875-1947
Gautier, Théophile, 1811-1872
Dupont, Gabriel, 1878-1914
Verlaine, Paul, 1844-1896
Duparc, Henri, 1848-1933
Bonnières, Robert de
Chausson, Ernest, 1855-1899
Moréas, Jean, 1856-1910
Papadiamantopoulos, Ioannes, 1856-1910
Fauré, Gabriel, 1845-1924
Silvestre, Armand, 1837-1901
Leconte de Lisle, 1818-1894
Ravel, Maurice, 1875-1937
Renard, Jules, 1864-1910
Rupp, Franz, 1901-1992
Schlusnus, Heinrich, 1888-1952
Dougherty, Celius, 1902-1986