The great librettists of the 19th and early 20th centuries were familiar figures (if
Eugene Scribe
is not one now, he certainly used to be). Those of today are hardly known, but things should be different with
Alice Goodman
, who wrote the libretti for two
John Adams
operas and now teams up with one of the leading composers of the next generation,
Nico Muhly
, on this utterly original piece of work.
Goodman
's texts, representing the Christian Stations of the Cross, are worth study in themselves; they combine biblical words with modern perspectives (the first movement, "Jesus is condemned to death," opens with "Did you expect it to go any other way?"). These are narrated, mostly without musical accompaniment, and then followed by Latin plainchant intoned by the
Choir of King's College, Cambridge
. The final section of each movement is for harp solo, played by the remarkable
Parker Ramsay
, who spearheaded the project. The work also exists in a version for harp alone, presented at the beginning of this release, and it is really worth hearing it this way;
Muhly
's music is intensely evocative of its subject even without the aid of text. Good releases are often ones that combine two good ideas; this one combines three or perhaps four. ~ James Manheim