Concert review: Baldwin sisters sing naughtily, but so nicely, with a dash of humor

At their joint recital Monday night, the Baldwin sisters -- mezzo Christina Baldwin and soprano Jennifer Baldwin Peden -- proved once again that they are among the most talented of Twin Cities classical performers, and that great technique and a sense of humor are not incompatible. The program, part of the Schubert Club's St. Paul Summer Song Festival, was titled "The Birds and the Bees and the Baldwin Sisters," with graduated sets of songs about love and sex rated "PG,"PG-13,"R" and "?" -- a clever way of organizing a diverse repertoire of serious music without having to take it too seriously.

The evening opened with the winner of the 2006 American Composer's Forum ArtSong Competition, the song cycle "The Secret of Your Heart" by Houston composer Karim Al-Zand. The songs had a lovely lyric quality that Baldwin used to create a strong dramatic narrative.

Baldwin Peden then turned to French art songs by Francis Poulenc, Georges Bizet and Henri DuParc, singing with wit and sensuality. Like her sister, she sang each as a form of musical storytelling.

Much of the program was made up of duets. It was a sensuous experience in itself to hear those two rich voices blend, including on the number from Mozart's "Cosi fan Tutte" that must be their favorite party piece, because the sisters play sisters. Other highlights were humorous works by Robert Schumann and Camille Saint-Saëns.

They also included "Summer" by Ricky Ian Gordon, composer of Minnesota Opera's "The Grapes of Wrath." This was another side of his art, but maintained his gift for dramatically telling melody.

The women enjoyed themselves immensely when the program turned naughty. Baldwin had a ball with William Bolcom's "Toothbrush Time," playing a woman trying to get rid of her lover the morning after. And Baldwin Peden made the most of Seymour Barab's tongue-in-cheek setting of Dorothy Parker's poem "Men." Even Samuel Barber was brought into the act, with "Promiscuity" from his "Hermit Songs." Baldwin's extravagant British accent added a bit of taste to Tom Lehrer's "Smut."

A sequence of show tunes was performed as competently as any of the art songs. This is no mean feat, to which an abundance of failed crossover albums can attest. Baldwin Peden gave Kurt Weill's "That's Him," from "One Touch of Venus," the lush vocalism the song deserves. She also got into being "Raunchy" (from "110 in the Shade"). The sisters' ribald rendition of "Class" from "Chicago" set the capstone on the whole event.

William Randall Beard is a Twin Cities writer.