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Feb. 28-Mar. 5, 2008
Reading The Score by Raoul Abdul
"Works by pioneering Black composer
presented at
Carnegie Hall
...On Friday evening, the soprano
Karen Parks made a selection
of [Harry T.] Burleigh's arrangements
of spirituals and some of his art songs the centerpiece of a program
entitled "Nobody Knows" at Weill Recital Hall/Carnegie Hall.
Her artistic collaborators were the pianist Wayne Sanders and cellist
Seth Woods. The house was sold out.
Of special interest were Burleigh's seldom-heard art songs "Oh! Rock
me, Julie" and "His Helmet's Blaze" and a transcription of his
setting of the spiritual "Nobody Knows" for voice and cello by Carlos
Simon. Parks not only sang these works beautifully, but offered
highly individual interpretive insights into the texts.
The program also included arrangements of spirituals and art songs by
[other African-American composers]. These were executed to perfection by
Parks and her remarkable pianist, Sanders.
Deserving of special mention was the handling of the dialect in the
spirituals which always poses a problem for concert artists. Parks
brought authenticity to her pronunciation of texts. Nothing sounded
artificial. The audience, which included a number of singers rewarded
her with much applause
throughout the evening."
Atlanta Alumni Chapter
of Mu Phi Epsilon
March 2008
Newsletter
Julia’s Jottings:
On February 17th
we had the
privilege of presenting
Karen Parks in
concert at Spivey Hall.
Karen performed a
fabulous
concert and our own
Portia Hawkins
accompanied her
beautifully
All who attended
enjoyed a
wonderful treat.
"Karen Parks, a voice that
spellbinds"
CD Review - Steve Hicken:
Sequenza/21 - The
Contemporary Classical Music Community
Ms. Parks has a rich and creamy voice, strong intonation and diction,
and a highly developed sense of drama and phrasing. These
performances communicate a clear understanding of the relationship
between text and music in both the spirituals and the songs. She also
illuminates the differences between the genres without erecting an
artificial aesthetic wall between them. This debut [CD] reveals Karen
Parks as an artist to keep an eye on.
BLOG REVIEWS
Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall: Fri., Feb. 22, 2008, 8pm
The recital was given by Karen Parks, soprano. She just released a
CD, which is No.2 on the classical charts, and this concert was
promoting her album. The program featured music by African-American
composers, and tastefully included several art songs in contrast to the
spirituals.
There was a very good turnout, and Ms. Parks got clapped back onstage
twice to give encores.
She was fantastic! Her outfits were
fantastic!
Nashville City Blogs - comment on Karen's photo shoot:
...if I hadn't already heard her tremendous voice, I would
have sworn that she is a model!
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