“Shall We Gather is like my other child. I’m about to give birth on September twenty fourth and if…” and before pianist Irina Meachem could finish her sentence, her husband, opera star Lucas Meachem added, “it doesn’t happen, we will induce.”
They are talking about their new Rubicon Classics album of American art songs that features Irina on piano and Lucas on vocals being released on Friday. It’s the perfect example of a passion project for the two who have been married since 2016.
After Lucas made his joke, Irina continued when I spoke by Zoom with them last week.
“It’s just years of passion, or hard work and being told we shouldn’t do this and we can’t do it by people in the business. and I’m just so happy to show that we have done it.”
You may recall that I recently interviewed Lucas when he was appearing in the Santa Fe Opera production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Irina works as an accompanist and also coaches opera singers. Since that interview was so recent, I want to give Irina the opportunity to do most of the talking in this interview. Though Lucas will have his say before we’re done.
Shall We Gather features songs by Aaron Copland, Stephen Foster, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jake Heggie, Florence Price, William Grant Still, Kurt Weill and others. The Meachems uses these songs to explore all the different ways and reasons why we gather.
Irina told me why they wanted to do this project.
“Many years ago we wanted to create something that would be very demonstrative of Lucas and his musicianship and his singing. And we went down the usual route, which is all of the famous arias that he sings. And we were dead set on that for some time. Then we realized there is an opportunity to use the platform that Lucas has to really say something. At the time it was about just inspiring people to come together to find commonalities. And we wanted to challenge ourselves and find repertoire that could really have an impact on those who listen and inspire some positive change.”
It was a journey that ultimately ended up yielding not just an album, but their own foundation.
“We went through a journey of finding repertoire that has been historically overlooked and we found that there were so many challenges with it. It was it was not as easy as it was to find [Samuel] Barber’s Sure on This Shining Night. That’s everywhere and it’s been done so much. So we had to challenge ourselves. That’s what’s inspired us to create Perfect Day Music Foundation. It invites other musicians to go across the same journey that we took the to expose ourselves to new, overlooked and neglected repertoire that deserves to be at the forefront of the standard American art song repertoire. I just I want them to have experience what we have. There’s a lot out there. This album is not a consummate collection. This is just the beginning. This is just our own journey with it.”
Any journey they undertook for Shall We Gather meant they had to have a common definition of what an American art song is. Irina was very precise in describing what they were looking for.
“I think what makes an America art song unique is that are the differences; there’s so much variety. You have the older pieces and the Appalachian songs. We have the Aaron Copland and Stephen Foster. But then you also have blues influence, you have jazz, you have these amazing rhythmic freedom of expression. You have this openness to just possibility.
“And there are certain struggles that we all can come together with. For instance, the song that was released as our first single, That Moment On from Pieces of 9/11 by Jake Heggie. That was something uniquely American. Yet I just saw someone comment on one of Lucas’s posts saying it was not just America, the whole world was impacted by it. So there is this influence that America has on the rest of the world. But it is a place of hope. It is a place of rebellion. It is it is a unique place. And that’s what we tried to find.”
Lucas told WQXR radio that he had to find his husband hat and his singer hat when working with Irina and that the challenge is to find the right balance. Does Irina believe that there is one form of balance for the two when they work together or if it changes project-by-project?
“The first year or two of us collaborating together we had to learn what that balance was. And now it’s the same for every project where where the husband hat doesn’t come off for him. We just are so close. Sometimes in a relationship where you really trust somebody you’re not fully acknowledging the other person for what they have to offer. I feel like we are very respectful of our differences. But when it came to communicating, something as simple as that is just as important as the ideas themselves.”
As in relationships, sometimes the most powerful thing in music is silence. Both Irina and Lucas agree that it is arguably one of the most important parts of their lives.
Irina began by saying, “It speaks louder than the applause itself. There is anticipation, there’s numbness when you’re taking in what that sound really was beforehand.”
Lucas added, ” It also shows a collective agreement with the audience that this is a special moment. When you hear it it’s almost like it’s not even that no one’s speaking, it’s that no one’s breathing and you can feel that. It happens rarely in performances because sometimes you get the crinkle of the wrapper or the cough or anything. But when it does, it’s palpable for me as a performer. And it’s like the audience and I are sharing this moment together.”
In the end Shall We Gather doesn’t just represent what Lucas and Irina Meachem believe are the qualities that bring us together. It also celebrates the project that brought them together.
“This is a duet album and Lucas was so thoughtful to to have included me in such a big part because it is it is equal parts,” Irina says. “A singer goes through so much; they have such a big job to do. And I respect what they go through. I can’t do it. Yet there are things that the pianist does which is equally impressive and important for me.
“I feel like I live a very privileged life because all of the work that I’ve put into creating my art, to creating a strong relationship with my spouse and to creating a safe space for my son. That has actually ended well. The most fulfilling part is doing it with Lucas who is a really exceptional singer. And the art, I think, really reflects that.”
Lucas and Irina Meachem’s Shall We Gather will be available on Friday, September 24th.
All photos by Nate Ryan/Courtesy Rubicon Classics