Revels FRINGE Spotlight: Sophie Michaux

This weekend, Revels FRINGE features Tiny Glass Tavern, an eclectic, cross-genre ensemble led by vocalist Sophie Michaux and composer/musician Adam Simon! Before Sophie and Adam take us on a musical journey across borders and genres, Revels sat down with Sophie to learn more about Tiny Glass Tavern, as well as her diverse musical styles and interests.

Tell us a little bit about Tiny Glass Tavern – how did you form this collective?

Sophie: I have performed a lot of different styles of music in different contexts, but a lot of the time, the styles stay in their own lanes. For example, I’ve done a lot of early music with groups like Blue Heron and Boston Early Music Festival, and in other contexts, I’ve done a lot of folk music or French cabaret songs. But I realized that I really loved putting all of these styles together, not separating them as much as is typically done. 

I decided to start Tiny Glass Tavern, with the concept that, in one concert, we give the audience little tastes of all these styles that I love. Every concert is very different and has different collaborators depending on the styles. One of our last shows was with a lute player who’s a specialist in theorbo and lute music from the 16th and 17th centuries, but he’s also an excellent jazz musician and very good in other popular styles. So our main focus for that concert was early music, but then we branched out and performed some songs by Edith Piaf. 
It’s not dissimilar to what Revels does. I was in The Christmas Revels in 2017, and I was inspired by what I learned on stage at Sanders. A lot of Tiny Glass Tavern also involves making the audience part of the music-making, just as they are in Revels shows. In many ways, Tiny Glass Tavern and Revels have a lot in common. It’s a perfect collaboration.

What sorts of pieces will be featured on this Revels FRINGE program?

Sophie: A big focus will be on French songs from the 40s, 50s, and 60s: songs made famous by Edith Piaf, Georges Brassens, and Jacques Brel. We’ll also have songs from South America, from Chile and Argentina, and folk songs from England. It’ll be a wide variety of different things, and I think the audience will get a taste of all these different styles. My husband, Adam Simon, will be playing guitar, and he’s also a composer. We’ll have some of his songs too.

During COVID, you and Adam did a virtual performance for Revels as Sophie et Adam. Can you talk about your ongoing collaboration and your work as a duo?

Sophie: Adam and I met 15 years ago and started making music together immediately. One of the things that brought us together was the shape note singing tradition, and a common interest and love for close harmony singing and folk traditions. We actually both went to the Longy School of Music, but at different times, so we were really passionate about classical music as well. We’ve been collaborating ever since – our first performance together was actually about a week after we met. 

Adam and I are the anchors of Tiny Glass Tavern, and both of us always perform in all our concerts. He’s a composer, and he’s written music for me specifically, in various styles, so it’s been so great to explore his music as well. And you know, I grew up in France –  I don’t think Adam had any particular interest in French music until we met, and since then, not only has he gained interest in the music, but now he speaks French almost fluently! Our collaboration comes from bringing together our different curiosities and passions for different styles.

When you find a style of music that evokes curiosity in you, how do you go about immersing yourself in that repertoire? What’s your process when you find a new genre to explore?

Sophie: As much as I can, immerse myself in listening to the great singers of that particular style. I think there’s no other way than to learn from the greats. In France, I grew up listening to Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel, and these singers were part of the musical landscape, so I bathed in that sound. And for shape note singing, Adam and I have both been part of singing groups, or gone to singing events… depending on what the style is, we try to immerse ourselves in it in some way or another, either by going in person to experience it, or working with specialists of that particular style, or just using recordings and listening very very carefully to the specific things about every different style. That could be ornaments, or the language, or the rubato, or the way that you dance around with the music. It’s really interesting for me to explore what makes every style beautiful.

There’s a huge amount of curious listening with radar ears. I might listen to five seconds of a recording twenty times to see how an ornament works, and just get really nerdy about it. Sometimes we have to boil down some of these styles for just voice and guitar, for our ensemble, and I’m so lucky that Adam is incredibly creative with this. These styles sometimes involve whole orchestras, and he manages to boil it down to incredibly subtle and interesting guitar playing. He has so much musicianship and a really good sense of how to bring out the essence of the song, even though most of our repertoire was not originally written for one voice and guitar.

Is there anything in particular that you would want audiences to listen for during Sunday’s concert? What should they walk away with?

Sophie: Just the understanding that we are fortunate to gather and fortunate to experience the beauty of all these different styles of music. We have a moment to focus on the wealth of repertoire that is out there, and how these languages make each other pop and bring each other out. I think that’s a nice metaphor for our life; we are also different, but when we’re put together, it just brings out the best in all of us.

How did you land on the name Tiny Glass Tavern?

Sophie Michaux: One of my favorite ways of drinking anything is in a small glass. I have a collection of all kinds of different small glasses.  I just love the idea that when you only have a small quantity of it, you typically pay more attention to it. So that’s how I typically like to drink coffee, in small glasses, or wine, or delicious juices, or whatever. It’s this curiosity of tasting something. Iif you like it, then you can have some more, and if you don’t, then you’ve had your palate opened. And the idea of a tavern is that it’s a place where people gather on their journey to wherever they’re going. A tavern just feels like a warm place where we come together and have a good time. 

What else do you have coming down the pipeline for Tiny Glass Tavern?

Sophie Michaux: Tiny Glass Tavern’s next show will be on April 11 at The Burren. That show will focus on works and songs for women and high voices, centered around Bjork and Dirty Projectors’ EP, Mount Wittenberg Orca. We’ll also be doing songs from Bulgaria, and some folk songs, and some early music as well. Also, our album, Let us Dance, Let us Sing, is currently available on all platforms! You can learn more on our website, https://www.tinyglasstavern.com/

Tickets are still available for Revels FRINGE featuring Tiny Glass Tavern, on Sunday, February 15, at Club Passim in Harvard Square. Learn more and buy tickets today here.