One of the more interesting features of concert life in New York in the past decade has been the growth--one might almost say the ubiquity--of the vocal recital. By the "vocal recital" I mean the classic "art song evening," as opposed to an evening of opera arias. Historically, the "art song evening" was limited to inner-core music lovers, specialized recordings (such as those of the Hugo Wolf Society in the 1930s), and specialized voices, like that of Povla Frijsh--voices that had minimal, if any, contact with opera. Mostly, the vocal recital was a province of the German composers, with an important French subjunct, and it was performed with a distinct elevation in tone and attitude.

Today, there is hardly a week during the New York performing season that does not include vocal recitals, often several, and all which attract audiences. Indeed, the fifteen-year-old New York Festival of Song, founded by Michael Barrett and Steven Blier, which perf ...

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