The ensemble for THE ART OF SONG – by Daron Hagen. World Premiere
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Over time, art forms evolve and reconfigure. Sometimes it’s like twisting a kaleidoscope one half inch to the right, and other times you just put the kaleidoscope down. I have to say, I think it’s exhilarating to be in the middle things when they are changing – and this is just how I felt, sitting in the middle of the read-through of Daron Hagen’s THE ART OF SONG this week.
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The work is ambitious and moving. It has the completeness of a song-cycle, but it’s not really a song cycle. It’s direct like theater, but it’s not really opera. What IS it? I don’t know. And, what will this new form come to be called? Again, I don’t know. Perhaps you’ll have an idea for the name of this all-new genre once you hear it. We’d be interested to hear your ideas. We’ll even credit you if you win.
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Just to prepare you, THE ART OF SONG is a series of poetic and non-poetic vignettes, organized into seasons. It looks backward and forward, it’s sneakily linear, well, sort of. The texts are of poets, politicians, playwrights and children. There are six solo singers, presented in the roles of dozens of characters (as Daron put it). Here you will confront irony, nobility, redemption, grace, lust, tragedy, faith, clarity and muddle.
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I think you should come hear it.
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Duration: One hour and six minutes.
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THE ART OF SONG by Daron Hagen
* world premiere
Monday, November 4, 2019 at 7:30pm
Composer talk at 7:00pm
at The Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square
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The Art of Song was jointly commissioned by Lyric Fest and The Brooklyn Art Song Society.