# Sarah Shafer at Herbst Theatre, April 29, 2019

[San Francisco Performances](https://sfperformances.org/performances/1819/SarahShafer.html) presents [Sarah Shafer](http://www.sarahshafersoprano.com/)  
[Herbst Theatre](http://www.sfwmpac.org/herbst-theatre)  
[Veterans' Building, San Francisco War Memorial Performing Arts Center, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-4522 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Veterans'+Building,+San+Francisco+War+Memorial+Performing+Arts+Center,+401+Van+Ness+Avenue,+San+Francisco,+CA+94102-4522+USA&hl=en)  
7:30 PM, Monday, April 29, 2019

[[2019-04-26|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2019|Up to the 2019 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2019#April_events|Up to the 2019 event list!]] ☸ [[:2019:2019-05:2019-05-01|On to the next event!]]

## One Set

[7:32 PM lights down, announcements, welcome by Melanie Smith; very brief pause, then performers out]

01. [7:34 PM] Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): _Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten (I follow you with joyful steps)_, from _Johannes Passion_ (1724) BWV 245 Part 1, No. 9  
[work ends 7:38 PM; brief pause]

### Mozart selections

Four songs by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

02. [7:38 PM] _Das Veilchen (the Little Violet)_, KV 476 (1785)
03. [7:41 PM] _Die Kleine Spinnerin (the Spinning-Girl)_, KV 531 (1787)
04. [7:43 PM] _Als Luise die Briefe (About Luise and the Letters)_, KV 520 (1787)
05. [7:45 PM] _Abendempfindung (Evening Feeling)_, KV 523 (1787)  
[section ends 7:49 PM; applause, then long pause for latecomers to be seated]

### Wolf: Selections from Mörike-Leider

Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (1860–1903): Selections from _Mörike-Leider_, IHW 22 (1888)

01. [7:51 PM] _Der Knabe und das Immlein (the Lad and the Bee)_, H1, no. 2
02. [7:54 PM] _Ein Stündlein wohl vor Tag (An Hour Before Daybreak)_, H1, no. 3
03. [7:57 PM] _Er ist's (It's him!)_, H1, no. 6
04. [7:58 PM] _Nixe Binsefuß (the Mermaid Rushfoot)_, H4, no. 45
05. [8:01 PM] _Erstes Liebeslied eines Mädchens (First Love Song of a Girl)_, H4, no. 42
06. [8:03 PM] _Begegnung (Encounter)_, H1, no. 8
07. [8:05 PM] _Im Frühling (In the Spring)_, H2, no. 13  
[section ends 8:10 PM; long bit of applause, then break!]

## Set Two

[8:30 PM lights down, performers out]

### Poulenc: Fiançailles pour rire

Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (1899–1963): _Fiançailles pour rire (Betrothal for Laughs)_, FP101 (1939)

01. [8:30 PM] _La Dame d'André (André's Lady)_
02. [8:32 PM] _Dans l'herbe (In the Grass)_
03. [8:35 PM] _Il vole (He Thieves)_
04. [8:37 PM] _Mon cadavre est doux comme un gant (My Corpse Is as Soft as a Glove)_
05. [8:40 PM] _Violon (Violin)_
06. [8:42 PM] _Fleurs (Flowers)_  
[section ends 8:44 PM]

### Barber: Hermit Songs

Samuel Barber: _Hermit Songs_, Op. 29 (1953)

01. [8:46 PM] _At St Patrick’s Purgatory_
02. [8:48 PM] _Church Bell at Night_
03. [8:49 PM] _St Ita’s Vision_
04. [8:52 PM] _The Heavenly Banquet_
05. [8:54 PM] _The Crucifixion_
06. [8:56 PM] _Sea Snatch_
07. [8:57 PM] _Promiscuity_
08. [8:58 PM] _The Monk and his Cat_
09. [9:01 PM] _The Praises of God_
10. [9:02 PM] _The Desire for Hermitage_  
[set ends 9:05 PM; bows, applause, then back for a little something extra...]

### Encore: Another song by Hugo Wolf

01. [9:07 PM] _Auch kleine Dinge (Even Little Things)_, from _Italienisches Liederbuch_, IHW 15, no. 1 (ca. 1896)  
[tune ends 9:09 PM; applause and bows, another curtainless-call, then the show ends, 9:09 PM]

## Performers

* [Sarah Shafer](http://www.sarahshafersoprano.com/): soprano vox;
* Timothy Shafer: piano.

## Notes

Since you're wondering, Timothy is Sarah's father.

Between the usual work distractions, commute-time traffic and BART hassles, I was lucky to arrive at Herbst by show-time. I think I walked into the entrance lobby at *exactly* 7:30 PM -- bad planning for getting a good seat at a GA show, and yet, as I hustled down the aisle, I noticed that the second row was practically empty. Lucky me! I took off my coat, plopped myself into a seat in the center, and then the house lights dimmed. Yep, cut it a little close tonight!

While looking up at a singer from second row might not give the most flattering view ("my, how jowly you look grandma," said Little Red Riding Hood), I like that position for delivering a full warm sound from the piano. And without the usual distraction of rustling neighbors, that aspect of the performance was especially sublime: when Sarah wasn't singing, it was quite easy to close my eyes and slide away into piano bliss!

And for the singing? I thought it was top notch! Classical vocal recitals aren't something I devote my attention to often, but when I'm in the right mood, a powerful singer can be riveting. Sarah seemed to enjoy herself, trying on new characters for each song, and adding deliberately theatrical elements to emphasize the lyric turns. Bravo!

[Program Notes](https://sfperformances.org/performances/1819/SarahShafer.html) or {{:2019:2019-04:2019-04-29_pn.pdf|program notes}}

Joshua Kosman posted a glowing [review](https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/review-in-a-vibrant-solo-recital-sarah-shafer-comes-into-her-own) of the performance with the SF Chronicle.

{{tag>music Sarah_Shafer Timothy_Shafer Herbst_Theatre }}

[[2019-04-26|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2019|Up to the 2019 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2019#April_events|Up to the 2019 event list!]] ☸ [[:2019:2019-05:2019-05-01|On to the next event!]]