Tucson Desert Song Festival kicks off 10th season

Higdon, who lives in Philadelphia, was thinking more East Coast than punishing Tucson summertime when she wrote about gathering blackberries and breathing in the sweet perfume of fresh-mowed grass.

But the warmth of Higdon’s music and the sentiments expressed in the texts certainly spoke to us. Higdon’s song cycle, based on poems written mostly by women including Higdon, took us through the emotions we feel in summertime — even in the sweltering heat of a Tucson summer — rejuvenation, freedom and a sense of adventure.

Higdon’s music was delightfully all over the map emotionally — playful and light when Cooke, in a jazzy scat style, sang “ping, pang, pong” to emulate rain dropping on a tin roof and richly reminiscent of Great American Songbook style on “Summer Hue.”

While Cooke, who introduced herself Thursday night with stunning performances of Rossini’s “Joan of Arc” cantata and Berlioz’s wonderful “The Death of Ophelia,” was the center of attention, we couldn’t take our eyes or ears off Huang, who was able to summon from Higdon’s score the playfulness, pain, longing and romance the composer had intended.

Cooke closed Thursday’s concert with several songs that focused on children including Florence Price’s sweet “Night.”