The Knights: May 15, 2025

Francesca and I heard The Knights at Zankel Hall on May 15, 2025. Francesca suggested this concert because she's a fan of the composer and performer Christina Courtin. Courtin has played violin with The Knights for many years, they all seemed very happy to be performing a world premiere of a piece she wrote.

The program opened with "Pretty Pea in the Blue," a piece Courtin cowrote with Alex Sopp, who plays flute in the group. They both sang and played their instruments, just the two of them. Courtin played the violin the entire time, Sopp played the flute sporadically. Their voices sounded great together, they often sang in thirds, it was lovely, engaging, and a perfect way to start the concert.

The next piece was "The History of Red" by Reena Esmail on a text by Linda Hogan. The soprano soloist was Kathryn Mueller. Esmail introduced the piece and said that she, Courtin, and Sopp were all at Juilliard together. How cute is that? She also knew many people in the ensemble. The whole evening had that feeling of closeness and warmth, people really enjoying making music together.

The piece had a bold, strong intro with the horns planting their flag and setting the tone. I thought I was picking up on a Hollywood Epic flavor (think the Liz Taylor *Cleopatra*) but once the soprano came in I realized it was actually a Samuel Barber vibe I was getting. This piece sounded like Barber of the 21st century. Colorful and imaginative but never innovative or challenging. Nothing wrong with that.

Mueller sometimes strained to make her lower notes heard. The piece and her voice really took flight when she stopped singing words and went up and up and up into her high range. The piece was beautiful, effective, and moderately forgettable.

Here's a recent performance of the piece in an arrangement for soprano and piano trio. I might like this better than the chamber orchestra version:

Courtin introduced her world premiere, "rhapsody on being giant proof," a setting of her own texts. She said it was "a stream in and out of consciousness." Her voice was amplified and she played the violin about half the time. Her singing was direct, expressive, and deeply sincere. I didn't think it was extraordinary music but it made me smile, I was glad I heard it, and I was drawn into her joy in performing it. The audience was also totally into it, always a bonus.

Here's a video of Courtin performing a song of hers with Colin Jacobsen, artistic director and concertmaster of The Knights. I don't know who's playing the piano. Her voice reminds me a lot of Nanci Griffith.

There was one piece on the second half, the Dvořák Serenade for Strings. The word I wrote in my notes was "transporting." It was heavenly. His writing for the strings was stellar, a wonderful variety of techniques and colors. It was a joy to be in the presence of such beautiful music played with luminous artistry. Here's a performance by the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra: