- PATRICK'S CHURCH
HUNTINGTON, NY
OCTOBER 22, 2006
Anthony Kearns continued his Fall, 2006 solo concert tour at an almost packed
St. Patrick's Church, in Huntington, NY, on Sunday. The church is very large,
with lots of marble, and a huge altar, where the piano was placed. The accoustics
were not good. There was a lot of "reverb" in some areas of the church. From the
front pews of course, the sound was excellent, but further back it was a bit more
difficult to hear, I was told. Because people were milling around their seats, and
talking, Anthony wasn't able to do his customary sound check, but Patrick came
out in jeans and a light green sweater, to do his own sound check, which consisted
of "1, 2, 3, 4 testing." Special seats were set up for the clergy, including the titular
head of the Church of Galway, whose name was Cisneros!!! That drew laughs and
applause from the audience, as he stood to take a bow. After all the introductions
were made, the concert began about 25 minutes late.
Patrick explained to the audience that Anthony had a cold because the woman
he sat next to on the 9-hour flight from Dublin.....had the bubonic plague! And that
at some times, Anthony could barely speak. But that they had a tour to do, and
he was going to do his best. First off, let me say that Anthony Kearns, even when
he's not at his best, is better than 99% of all the other tenors out there! He began
with one of my favorite songs, and a good "warm-up" song, "Sally Gardens." It
was quite lovely. There were places, especially in the low tones, when one could
hear signs of a cold, but the middle and high voice were beautiful, and got stronger
as the afternoon went on. The first group of songs consisted of "Anthony standards",
which most of the audience had not heard before. They were delighted with
"Trottin' to the Fair", the 2 Kittys-Kitty of Coleraine, and Kitty Me Love, "Little Grey
Home of the West", "The Palatine's Daughter", "Eileen Og", "Darling Girl from
Clare." The first half included some exquisite pieces, which the audience really
loved. Anthony sang a beautiful "Where 'ere You Walk", from Handel's Semele,
and the gorgeous and very difficult "Ombra Mai Fu." This was a very appreciative
audience, and they were already taken with Anthony and Patrick. And the best
was still yet to come!
Patrick Healy wears the mantle of "accompanist extraordinaire" with grace. But
he also wears his raconteur hat with ease. He told the Tosca and the trampolene
story, and the story of the cat on the roof, and had the audience rolling in the aisles.
And he manages to embellish his stories each time, adding a word here and there,
an inflection, a pause, so that those of us who have heard the stories countless
times, are still laughng right along with the audience. His timing and delivery are
absolutely perfect! And he sings, too! He regaled the audience with "And Her
Mother Came, Too", by Ivor Novello, and, during the second half, an extraordinary
"Modern Major General", from Pirates of Penzance. The audience roared with
pleasure when he finished the song..
Anthony began the second half with a sunny, lilting "Vienna Mine." and then he
explained to the audience that he had just done a tribute to John McCormack,
that McCormack counted Rachmaninov among his friends, and that Rachmaninov
had written this song for McCormack. It is an absolutely glorious piece translated
as "To The Chldren", wherein a father watches over his children as they sleep,
and laments that they have to grow older, and wishes he could protect them from
sorrow and loss. Anthony sang this piece magnificently. It was very moving, and
so beautiful. He also sang a wonderful "Mattinata", and by ths time he was in
excellent voice, and his high notes rang out marvelously. This song was
rapturously received. In fact, after the concert, many of the audience told
Anthony how much they enjoyed the Italian songs he had sung, such as "Torna
a Surriento", and his encore, "O Sole Mio." One person asked him if he was half
Italian, because he sang those pieces so well, and his diction was so good!
Anthony also sang a French aria, "Vainement, Ma Bien Aimee", from Lalo's
"Le Roi dYs", which he hasn't sung since 2002, I think. At that time, he prefaced
it with a short explanation, and I think that might have helped here. It's almost
never sung these days, but it was beautiful. However, if I had to pick one song
which was the pinnacle of the concert, it would have to be "A Father's Prayer",
which as we all know, was written for Anthony, by Patrick. It was movingly
sung, simply, but with great feeling, liquid tones, and exquisite, pianissino
high notes. I turned to watch some of the reaction from the audience, and
there were several people wiping their eyes, and everyone seemed to be
affected by this piece. I'm sure many more CDs were sold after people
found out they could have Anthony's rendition of this song, with Patrick
accompanying, to play again.
There was a sumptuous reception at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception
after the concert, where Anthony and Patrick "reigned" far longer than they
expected, as person after person wanted to thank them for such a wonderful
concert, have their CD signed, have a photo taken, or just to tell Anthony to
take care of himself, and to feel better. And throughout, even though
Anthony really did not feel well, both men were charming, funny, and very,
very gracious. To paraphrase Robert Frost, all 3 men had "miles to go before
they slept." But they could sleep well, after a job very well-done, indeed.
Berta Calechman
