Piedmont College Navigator

Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: A&E

When I sat down in the chapel to hear Kyle Thurmond's recital, I didn't know what to expect. However, when the performance began, I was awestruck. I have never heard Thurmond perform on his own before, so finding out what he is capable of was quite a treat.

Thurmond isn't your average singer. His vocal range is capable of spanning both baritone and tenor, allowing him to perform a variety of pieces. The first of the pieces in his recital was a work by an English Baroque composer named Henry Purcell. The song in particular, called Music for a While, is not one that I'm familiar with; however, Thurmond's performance of it was quite exquisite.

Next he performed a selection of pieces from Handel's Messiah, one of Handel's best-known works because of the popular Hallelujah chorus. The selected pieces were Comfort Ye, He that Dwelleth in Heaven and Thou Shalt Break Them. Handel was also a Baroque composer, and much of his music employs a variety of notes in single phrases. This is noticeable throughout the Messiah, including the movement For Unto Us a Child is Born. Thurmond's performance blew me away. I have seen a performance of Handel's Messiah before, and it was as if I was reliving that professional performance.

The third of Thurmond's pieces was from an opera by Mozart called Le Nozze di Figaro, or The Marriage of Figaro. It's the second in a series of three plays by French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais, all of which star the character Figaro. As a result, many people believe that Mozart also wrote the very popular Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) - the first in the set of three - that was actually turned into an opera by Gioachino Rossini. I've also seen a live performance of The Marriage of Figaro, and once again it was as though I was watching it all over again. Thurmond hit the high note at the end of In quegli anni, the character Basilio's aria, beautifully.

Following the aria was a piece by Beethoven, Sehnsucht. This piece was set in four variations, each one sung with excellence on Thurmond's part. Following were three pieces in French: Beau Soir by Claude Debussy, Après un rêve by Gabriel Fauré and Aimons-nous by Camille Saint-Saëns. Once again, Thurmond performed wonderfully. In music, performers must know how to pronounce the lyrics they're singing. This can be difficult when lyrics are in another language, but Thurmond overcame these challenges well.

The final pieces came first from Roger Quilter's Shakespeare Songs. Three excerpts were chosen from this work: Come away, Death; Blow, blow, thou Winter Wind; and Fear no more the heat o' the Sun. To finish the performance, Thurmond chose a piece by composer-arranger Mark Hayes called My Lord, What a Morning. Each of these was performed delicately, ending the performance with a captivated audience.

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