Jane Leibel: Songs of the Bubble Ring – the songs of John Greer and Clifford Crawley
Songs of the Bubble Ring – Songs by John Greer and Clifford Crawley.
Jane Leibel, soprano
John Greer, piano
City: St. John’s, NL
NLAC Program Funded Under:
Professional Project Grants Program
Amount Funded: $3,000
Album Released: February 1, 2012
Label: Centaur Records
Website: http://www.amazon.com/Songs-of-the-Bubble-Ring/dp/B00689IGEY
Artist Contact: Jane Leibel
Artist E-mail: jleibel@mun.ca
Jane Leibel set out with an ambitious goal to create a program of music that would be compelling - and appeal to lovers of contemporary soprano (or high voice) solo and chamber music. Leibel also wanted to attract new listeners to the genre, and hopes that the recording makes the music accessible and helpful in the appreciation of contemporary Canadian music.
The program, which is bookended by works of familiar Canadian composers, is a presentation of five songbooks – each with their own stories and meaning. Spanning more than two decades of development, her relationship with colleagues for the project added to the final product, and Leibel says the opportunity was a very “fruitful” one. For her, it was special to have them involved; those working on the project shared the same goal of creating a recording that strived for excellence, and really captured the spirit of the music.
The result was an album full of exciting chamber and vocal music that celebrates musical parody. Leibel has gone on to tour and perform songs from Songs of the Bubble Ring across Canada and will tour the US in 2012 following a stop in Paris to perform with pianist, Maureen Volk.
Q and A with Jane Leibel...
Jane Leibel
NLAC: Can you explain the composition of the record – Palm Court Songs of the Bubble Ring, Sarah Binks Songbook, When Soft Voices Die, Stevie Smith Songs and The Sound of Many Waters – and how they complement one another?
Jane: The project grew out of my desire to record the songs of John Greer and Clifford Crawley. It became my goal to build a balanced program of vocal chamber music featuring Greer and Crawley as compatible “bookends” in the contemporary Canadian repertoire. Having decided upon an overarching concept, a second important consideration was to find music that had not been recorded by either of these composers. My desire was to fashion a program that would appeal to lovers of the contemporary soprano voice and of a contemporary repertoire in general - works that are genuinely compelling, not simply curiosities because of their unavailability. The resulting program is an exciting combination of chamber and solo vocal song cycles which centers on the whimsical and lyric voice of the soprano.
NLAC: The Sound of Many Waters was written just for you, how did that come about?
Jane: This song-cycle was a commission from me and my colleagues in the School of Music at MUN - Michelle Cheramy (flute) and Rob Power (percussion) - for Sound Symposium in 2004. Cliff Crawly enthusiastically agreed to write these twelve short, charming songs scored for soprano, flute, percussion and string bass.
NLAC: How did you find working with your collaborators, and the recording process?
John Greer
Jane: My colleagues and collaborators: John Greer (piano), Vernon Regehr (cello), Sean Rice (clarinet), Michelle Cheramy (flute and piccolo), Rob Power (percussion), and Frank Fusari (string bass) are brilliant musicians and incredibly patient recording artists. They understood the process and the time it takes to get exactly what you need recorded, even if it took more than few takes. The recording process is “cleansing” in that you have a real opportunity to closely examine your work and strive for excellence in capturing the spirit of the music.
NLAC: What types of challenges did you face with this project and how did you overcome them?
Jane: The editing and mixing/mastering of the final CD took a long time to get started, but once that finally happened we were able to move steadily forward in manufacturing the CD with Centaur records.
NLAC: What was the process of trying to get a label like, how can people get your music?
Jane: I contacted Centaur Records and sent them a copy of my first album: Songs and Sonnets. They were very interested in my work once they heard my first CD. The official release from Centaur Records is February 1st, 2012. The CD is available from their website (http://www.centaurrecords.com), the Canadian Music Centre Library, from me directly by emailing jleibel@mun.ca or it can be ordered from Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/Songs-of-the-Bubble-Ring/dp/B00689IGEY)
NLAC: How long did the project take and where did the idea first come from?
Jane: It was recorded from July 22nd to 25th and August 25th to 2nd in 2008 at the D. F. Cook Recital Hall, in the School of Music at MUN. The recording was produced by John Greer and engineered by Rich Blenkinsopp, who is a Music Technology Specialist at the School of Music.
This project is the culmination of over two decades of a fruitful musical relationship with John, reflecting one of my primary musical focuses as a performer, Canadian contemporary vocal repertoire. Over the ensuing 23 years, John and I have become both colleagues and friends. He’s a superb pianist, and what makes this project special for me is his place at the piano, playing his own compositions and the music of Clifford Crawley, whom he has admired as a Canadian composer.
The album title takes inspiration from the chamber music piece Palm Court Songs of the Bubble Ring, for piano, voice, clarinet and cello, featuring Sean Rice (clarinet) and Vernon Regehr (cello). The poetry from this song-cycle is taken from Canadian poet Dennis Lee's witty and entertaining book: The Difficulty of Living on Other Planets.
Clifford Crawley
I met Clifford when he and his wife Beverley Diamond moved to St. John’s in 2002. Tom Gordon and I commissioned Cliff to write a chamber ensemble, Grey Island, a song-cycle (voice, piano and clarinet) featured on my debut CD Songs and Sonnets. Later we asked Cliff to write a chamber music piece for the Sound Symposium mentioned earlier, Sounds of Many Waters.
NLAC: Can people see performances of the work on this record; are there plans for a concert or tour?
Jane: Last fall, pianist Maureen Volk and I travelled to Lethbridge, Regina, and Saskatoon in Canada as well as St. Pierre, France performing highlights from the CD. There are upcoming performances with pianist Maureen Volk in Paris, France taking place in June this year with a fall tour in the USA to follow.
NLAC: What are you working on for your next project?
Jane: I have too many ideas for the “next” project, so I need to choose one of them and focus my energy on making that next album happen.
NLAC: Is there anything you would like to add?
Jane: I am fortunate to have John Greer partner with me in this endeavour, not only playing his own compositions but those of Clifford Crawley. I hope this album will serve as a practical, accessible recording that the general public will find helpful in their understanding and appreciation of contemporary Canadian music.
This recording was made possible in part by grants from Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council.
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