Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Winter 2020 11 our lives had gone in many different directions, Jessye living at that time in London and our family in Westchester County in New York, Jessye carried pictures of our two little daughters with her everywhere. Earl and I spent several months in the summers in those years performing and teaching in the Aspen Music Festival and School. It was here that I performed with several wonderful singers in some of the finest vocal repertoire. One of these artists was the tenor, Paul Sperry. During the 1990's when the new tent and concert hall were inaugurated, Paul wanted to perform something particularly significant. He chose Schubert's great cycle Die Winterreise. We worked on it for several weeks and Paul sang it from beginning to end without any pause or break. It was an overwhelming experience, and aer our performance, I wrote about it to Jessye with great excitement. Soon aer returning home, I had a surprise telephone call and there was Jessye's voice: "I received your letter describing your performance of Die Winterreise and it came at just the right moment! I have been invited to perform next season at the opening of the Paris Opera, and I proposed to them Schubert's Die Winterreise, rarely sung by a soprano. ey have accepted my choice but I have kept them waiting for a final confirmation as I wanted to have another woman perform with me! Can I ask if you can join me in Paris for this performance?" And thus another miraculous chapter opened in my musical and personal experience. She also added the following to her Paris invitation, "It is time we performed more music together; can you also join me in a longer tour next season?" Life-changing words. During the next three years, we travelled to many cities in the United States, made a recording of rarely heard early songs of Alban Berg, and made an unforgettable trip to Brazil. In a truly memorable journey to Rio and Sao Paolo full of high adventure, Jessye was received there with a combination of Royal Fanfare and Rock Star Frenzy! I could barely keep up with her gigantic artistry and stage charisma, and I quickly learned that the minimal rehearsal time spent would never translate into the hair- raising spontaneity of her on-stage performances. It was a high-wire combination of ravishing vocal beauty and star-power, and Brazil loved her unconditionally. Just before we le on this trip, Jessye had an inspiration. She had heard a favorite Brazilian popular song, AZULAO, (Blue Eyes!) and was determined to learn it in Portuguese so she could surprise her audience with it as an encore. She only needed someone who could coach her in order to present a truly authentic version. She asked me if I knew anyone who could help her. At this time, I happened to have a wonderful piano student from Porto Alegre, Ney Fialkow, in my class at Peabody Conservatory. I called him immediately. "Could you possibly help coach the great singer, Jessye Norman, in your folk song, Azulao over the phone? She wants to sing it when she is in Brazil and surprise her audiences!" Nearly fainting with ecstasy over the chance to be of help to his all-time idol among singers, he soon was working with her across the phone wires and marveling how she absorbed both the music and the new language with uncanny skill and speed. Just as she had envisioned, aer the last piece on her first recital in the Rio Opera House, the sight of Jessye sweeping downstage, clouds of white chiffon billowing behind her, to greet her audience of thousands, and leading them in their beloved Azulao is a vision that will remain forever in my memory! Our last performance together was in Washington at the Kennedy Center, our two lives seeming to come together in a full circle. Aer this performance, Jessye once again turned to me for help. Due to the sudden death of her great English accompanist, Geoffrey Parsons, and my own inability to perform with her due to impending minor surgery with several months of recovery ahead of me, Jessye was in immediate need of a pianist of the highest caliber for her upcoming concerts in Europe. Once again, the stars were aligned perfectly, and I telephoned another remarkable pianist and former student from many years ago at Peabody, Mark Markham, who had already been enjoying a major career as a vocal accompanist and coach, and asked him if he might be free to accompany the great soprano, Jessye Norman in her upcoming European engagements. In stunned disbelief, but with complete professional aplomb, Mark not only filled in during her next concerts, but continued to serve as her accompanist and companion for the next twenty years through to her last Carnegie Hall recital. When news of her recent September passing was announced, Mark was asked by Jessye's family to perform at the memorial service in her home town of Augusta, Georgia and at the Metropolitan Opera House tribute where Jessye's life and record- breaking career were celebrated. In my heart, it seems as if the seeds planted by Sigma Alpha Iota have come safely to a final resting place. I thank God for the priceless gi in my own life of cherished friendship with Helen May and Jessye Norman, who are surely at this moment singing joyfully with His angels. — SAI Honorary Member Ann Schein Carlyss TRIBUTE Jessye Norman at the 1965 SAI National Convention in Minneapolis.

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