There was something regal about Jessye Norman during Sunday
night’s concert at Kodak Hall. A certain calm, unhurried
presence that gave her performance the exquisite touch that only a mature and
self-confident artist can bring to her audience.

You could argue that the three-hour event went on too long.
There were various introductions going into this benefit concert for the organization
Action for a Better Community. There was the awarding of an honorary doctorate
upon Norman. There were several changeovers that bordered on intermissions.

But the moments of Norman’s singing and the collaboration of
Norman’s singing with Garth Fagan Dance were so extraordinary that one simply
didn’t want to reach the end of the program.

Norman performed 12 songs with pianist Mark Markham, and
four songs with Garth Fagan Dance. Norman opened with “Oh, What a Beautiful
City,” and from the opening notes she was generous with her gift of song. There
was a deep, spiritual theme to the programmed works, including “There is a Balm
in Gilead,” a breathtaking a cappella rendition of “Oh, Glory,” and “Great
Day!”

When Norman sang “His Eye is on the Sparrow,” she was seated
at the curve of the Steinway concert grand, her flowing caftan draped around
her, and her humming was as soothing as if we were all her children. When the
words came, they were intimate, tender, and sweet. Even when her voice unfurled
its power through volume and the extent of its low range, Norman’s technique
was delivered with ease.

By far the 
most dramatic piece of the concert was “Another Man Done Gone.” It
was listed in the program as a traditional song. Its structure is simple and
the lines repetitive. But Markham used the piano in a manner reminiscent of
Helmut Lachenmann’s “musiqueconcrèteinstrumentale,” a sound world accessed by drawing
sound out of instruments in ways one wouldn’t expect. Markham pounded the
fleshy side of his right fist upon that small flat space at the top of the
keyboard while depressing the damper pedal. The unusual sound captured drum
tones and bell tones, which, combined with Norman’s voice, was a heartbreaking
expression of oppression to the point of death.

Three of the four works performed by Norman with Garth Fagan
Dance were an extension of that same emotional space. The first work in
particular, “I Want Two Wings,” combined three female and one male dancer, illustrating
the futility of the emotions that trap and weigh us down. The dancers’
movements were as bold and strong as Norman’s voice, and their whirlings that
failed to take flight reflected our own states when we are sad, angry, and
frustrated.

The third combined piece, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” was a brilliant execution of
tight, tense movements, akin to a troupe bound by leg irons. The dancers’
bare-footed rhythms were like percussion instruments, while their hands and
arms created visual wind instruments. Joining the performance was a cellist, creating a soulful and complimentary line (the
cellist was unnamed in the program).

This amazing benefit concert for Action for a Better
Community had some empty seats. All I can say is this: there is a reason
certain artists become legends, and when they are in town, you need to make it
a point to expose yourself to their gifts. You just might find that a little
bit of magic travels out the door and onto Gibbs Street as you leave.

This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2013.