frank wallace

Lyrical Song to the Guitar - Zevener Review

This review just came in after our Eurpean tour in June.  Thanks to Norbert Dams for inviting us to the Zeven Festival and helping us organize several other concerts!

Zevener newspaper dated 14.06.2011 

Lyrical Song to the Guitar

Duo LiveOak charmed the audience with their own compositions — just simply beautiful

Duo LiveOak presented dreamy, festive, and animal songs to the audience at the Zevener Guitar Week on Saturday evening.  A quiet, lyrical evening without microphone, but with an encore that the audience demanded of Nancy Knowles (Mezzosopran) and Frank Wallace (Guitarre and baritone). 

In the 31st year of the Zevener Guitar Week, the organizers again succeeded in putting together a tight concert program.  Saturday night at the Zeven Town Hall  the American Duo LiveOak took the audience into the world of lyrical singing.

In the first part, before the first tone, with Nancy Knowles’ few carefully-chosen words in German about love lost and found again, they already had the listeners on their side.  Woman of the Water is the title of the first song cycle, a composition by Frank Wallace set to poetry by Theodore Roethke.  What mezzo-soprano Nancy Knowles and the guitarist Frank Wallace with his ten-string guitar brought to the ears was just simply beautiful.

Another composition by Frank Wallace followed, which he played as a soloist on the guitar: The Elements, with the movements Fire, Earth, Air and Water.  Darting flames, dark earth tones, the ease of the air, and the bubbly flowing water found an interesting musical setting with challenging, large hand stretches on the ten strings.

“How sensitive she is - meaning the earth,” said Nancy after the break, announcing another song cycle. With How Fragile She Is the two musicians have created a piece for soprano, baritone and guitar have that revolves around protecting the earth and ends with the question, should we help her, must we, can we?  The two voices harmonized beautifully.  Finally, there was a wink towards the animal world. Texts by Theodore Roethke and Nancy Knowles and compositions by Frank Wallace include a sloth, a singing serpent and a lady who observes a bear while fishing, and asks him why he fishes as he fishes - songs sung by two voices.  Then the audience glady requested an encore. (Rsk)