David R. Peoples - "A Final Year for President Lincoln"
David R. Peoples - A Final Year for President Lincoln
David Peoples, composer and professor at the University of North Georgia, has brought an antiquated sense of humor to the modern song cycle. A Final Year for President Lincoln, performed by Benjamin Schoening, baritone, alongside the composer at the piano, feels eerily familiar, with all four songs reminiscent of early Americana campaign tunes, plucking along in simple perpetuity.
The cycle brings together performance with Schoening's research interests, having published on how music functions in political campaigns past and present. His strong, demanding voice holds interest throughout the cycle, as the repetitive melodies and quasi-strophic settings begin to tire. Schoening's clear projection in all registers ensure the audience never misses a work of the text. While Peoples is a strong composer, and has created some fine works, his musical awareness while accompanying is slim, creating a barrage of sound over which Schoening has to struggle simply being heard, rather than giving him expressive freedom. Additionally, the piano accompaniment feels as just that, a simplistic boom-chuck. One has to wonder if Peoples' piano writing is limited by his playing level.
Overall, A Final Year for President Lincoln is an entertaining piece and a fun background listen, but offers little in terms of musical content, especially in the modern world of classical art song.
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