Stir Q&A: Baritone Tyler Duncan gives a window into a world premiere
The singer and pianist Erika Switzer debut Jeffrey Ryan’s Everything Already Lost on November 19, via Music on Main
Photo by Tatiana Daubeck
VANCOUVER BARITONE Tyler Duncan and pianist Erika Switzer will perform the world premiere of composer Jeffrey Ryan’s Everything Already Lost via Youtube on November 19 at 5 pm.
The title alone seems to speak directly to these times we’re in. In fact, the commission is a beautiful, emotional four-movement song cycle set to four poems by Jan Zwicky. The recital was shot in an empty Chan Centre, with high quality audio and video production by the presenter Music on Main.
We talked to its celebrated singer about the project.
Jeffrey has called you his "go-to" baritone. What is it about your voice and his music that makes such a perfect marriage?
That is very kind of him to say that. Jeffrey really listens, and knows the artist he is writing for, he really strives to uncover their strengths as performers and spotlight them without compromising the beauty in that he creates.
What made you and Erika take the leap to commission a world premiere, in the middle of a pandemic?
The commission began the season before the pandemic started with a generous donation from a private donor, and help from the SOCAN Foundation, with plans to have a live premiere in Vancouver plus a recording to happen this winter. Sadly, the pandemic hit and we had to improvise.
What surprised or impressed you when you started to work through Everything Already Lost?
Tyler Duncan and Erika Switzer
There are extremely challenging things about learning this work, as there always are with Jeffrey's pieces. That being said both Erika and I were surprised how well the music "fit." I am always happy with how Jeff writes for my voice, but this was on another level of understanding on how to bring out our strengths as performers.
What about the new piece speaks to these strange times?
There is a lot of solitude and solace in solitude in this cycle. There is quiet reflection and a celebration of nature. These are all things that many of us have turned to in these troubling times.
What was it like performing out of the Chan, without the audience you're so used to?
I have to tip my hat to Jeff once again. My favorite thing about singing is delivering the story through music and, most of all, text. Jeffrey is a master at setting the poetry so it is understandable and the meaning behind it is not hard to decipher. He was able to write music that allowed Erika and I to create a whole world in the beautiful lobby of the Chan Centre into which we could dive in and tell a captivating tale.
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