Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

My Heart Will Go On

Whether or not church bells were ringing, several classical composers of the 1800s had a habit of penning love songs to the ladies in their lives. Israeli-born pianist Sally Pinkas and mezzo-soprano Erma Mellinger explore their wedded and unwedded bliss in a series of captivating song cycles this week. Eight pieces in Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und- leben (A Woman’s Loves and Life) express his joy at gaining permission to marry pianist Clara Wieck. Gabriel Fauré, on the other hand, interpreted the words of French poet Paul Verlaine’s “La Bonne Chanson” (The Good Song) — described by Victor Hugo as a “flower in a bombshell” — in a tribute to his mistress. Follow the stories of these immortalized dames through Pinkas’ internationally known piano techniques and Mellinger’s vibrant solo voice.