Great singer creates magic at Pastorius Park
by MICHAEL CARUSO
There’s nothing more beautiful than a beautiful human voice, nothing more expressive than the sound of someone singing a beautiful song. Those of us in attendance last Wednesday night in Chestnut Hill’s Pastorius Park — and there were hundreds of us — can testify that Phil Roy has a beautiful voice and that he sang many beautiful songs.
As a pianist who still harbors a not-quite-faded wish that he could sing in beautiful tones, I’ve got to confess that no kind of musician can transport me to unimagined worlds more easily than a singer with a beautiful voice. And I don’t mean by “beautiful” the kind of grandiose voice one hears in opera houses. No, I mean the kind of voice that’s able to suspend and sustain a line of notes across an unbroken phrase and deliver a set of lyrics without a hint of forced inflection.
That’s the kind of singer Phil Roy revealed himself to be. Backed by John Lilley on guitars and vocals, Sean Hill on bass, Jim Lint on piano and organ, Carl Barone on drums and percussion and the canine artist Travis on tricks and things, Roy sang his way through a repertoire that was both revelatory and entertaining in a voice that was both clear and full, that could fill the air with throaty resonance one moment and then fall to a hushed whisper the next. His songs and his singing of them sometimes communicated a straightforward joy only to follow up with an aching sadness — and both came from the heart. At times, Roy’s music encouraged his audience to dance along; at others, it caused us to stop and recall and reflect.
With nary a superfluous flourish to distract from the music, Roy held his listeners in the thrall of his music, commanding the tempo at which they experienced that music for maximum narrative and expressive effect.
It would be criminal not to mention Roy’s own excellent guitar playing — simple yet evocative — as well as the excellent accompaniment offered by the fellow musicians of his band. I hasten to add that little or none of this artistry would have been appreciably heard by the audience if it weren’t for, perhaps, the best sound system I’ve encountered at Pastorius Park in some time. The sound was strong but never distorted.
EAST FALLS MEZZO
East Falls mezzo-soprano Suzanne DuPlantis will be joined by pianist James Batt in recital Tuesday, July 26, at 8 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Whitemarsh. Their recital will be preceded by a performance outdoors on the church’s carillon at 7 p.m. by Robin Austin.
Originally from New Orleans and a graduate of Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts, DuPlantis is the wife of K. James McDowell, AVA’s executive director. They have two children.
Alongside a busy career teaching voice, DuPlantis is also one of four professional soloists at the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, one of the denomination’s largest congregations and long a leader among local church music programs under Jeffrey Brillhart. Batt, who is organist and choir director at St. Thomas Church, is also the rehearsal accompanist for the Bryn Mawr Church’s senior choir, which numbers well over a hundred singers. He also plays for the rehearsals of the Singing City Choir, which is also led by Brillhart.
“I first worked with Jim two summers ago,” DuPlantis explained, “when we gave a recital together as part of this same summer concert series. When Singing City recently performed Rachmaninoff’s Vespers (also known as the All Night Vigil of the Russian Orthodox Church), Jim and I sang several of Rachmaninoff songs in between the first and second halves. I’ve also taken part, again with Jim, in St. Thomas’ Celtic Evensongs. They’re beautiful, peaceful liturgies that last about an hour.”
DuPlantis said that when it came to choosing the roster of songs to be programmed, she thought of songs that focus on evening time, such as a set by Duparc that travels in time from sunset to twilight. Works by Strauss, Faure, Brahms, Debussy, da Falla and even Gershwin will round out the bill of fare. There’s even room for a song DuPlantis has not yet chosen.
“I’ve been teaching a group of seven nine-year-olds to cook,” she admitted, “and by the time they leave at the end of the day, I’m wiped out. But I’ll make the choice of that last song this week.”
DuPlantis said that she particularly enjoyed working with Batt as an accompanist because “he’s a very sensitive pianist and just a wonderful human being.”
For more information, call 215-233-3970..
