Joyce Lee Tong shows depth and versatility in art song recital

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, art song evenings were often held in intimate spaces.

- Natalie Ng

CONCERT MARE-DNESS - DAYTIME DELIRIUM The Art Song Coterie Esplanade Recital Studio Dec 7

Typically in French or German, art songs are as pianistic as they are vocal and as literary as they are musical.

Over a century later, one might ask: Are these songs still relevant? What would an art song for today's fast-paced, modern society sound like?

These questions were addressed in Mare-Dness, a portmanteau of "daymare" and "madness". This semi-staged show, breaking traditional norms, was produced by The Art Song Coterie, comprising composer Americ Goh and soprano Joyce Lee Tung, as part of the Esplanade's annual Voices festival.

Together with creative director Lin Xiangning and collaborative pianist Nicholas Loh, the team devised a programme centred on the theme of madness. It featured rarely performed art songs spanning the 1840s to the present day.