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Music : Bright Eyed Joy: The Songs of Ricky Ian Gordon
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Bright Eyed Joy: The Songs of Ricky Ian Gordon by: Audra McDonald, Dawn Upshaw, Todd Ellison, Judy Blazer, Ted Sperling, Kenneth Burward-Hoy, Jesse Levy, Lawrence Feldman, Darius de Haas List Price: $18.98 CD-Charts Price: $14.99 You Save: $3.99 (21%)Prices subject to change. |
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Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0075597962628 Label: Nonesuch Manufacturer: Nonesuch Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Nonesuch Release Date: April 24, 2001 Studio: Nonesuch Sales Rank: 57358 Disc 1:
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Editorial Review: Amazon.com: Along with Michael John LaChiusa and Adam Guettel, Ricky Ian Gordon is one of the Young Turks of New York's musical theater. Like them, Gordon shuns both the accessible pop of a David Yazbek and the bombast of a Frank Wildhorn, preferring instead to write post-Sondheimian art songs. The numbers here (with lyrics by Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Dorothy Parker, James Agee) span two decades. They are marvelously interpreted by the likes of Audra McDonald, Dawn Upshaw, Darius de Haas, and Judy Blazer. Blazer ambles through "Resumé/Wail/Frustration" with delicious jazz-age wit, while Upshaw once more proves that she's a classical singer with an uncanny flair for the nonclassical repertoire. Note that anyone who's expecting anything resembling a beat is advised to look elsewhere. --Elisabeth Vincentelli Customer Reviews
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 Rating:  - Phenomenal!Ricky Ian Gordon is a very talented composer and poet, and the songs on "Bright Eyed Joy" display his magnificent gifts. There is not a contemporary composer who has his talent of fitting text to music, and the singers on this disc bring his compositions alive. Track 17, "Once I Was," will make you weep! Rating: - IncredibleThis is an incredible CD, from the sparkling orchestrations which are chamber but in the way they are mixed everything dances out at you, to the vocal interpretations which are so innovative for a recording of this type...settings of poetry but sung by regular, albeit, extraordinary regular people (except people like Dawn Upshaw and Audra McDonald who have already established themselves as major vocal artists)so that the songs feel personal. There is about this CD an incredibly meaningful air...moving, magisterial, powerful...straight from "Heaven" to "Joy" Gordon takes us on an inexorable journey through life towards transcendence and he and his brilliant players and performers succeed...Nonesuch does it again...Superb! Kudos all around. Gordon ... Read More: Rating:  - Quite an enjoyable CDBeing a fan of Mr. Gordon's, I couldn't wait until this CD came out. And I was not disappointed. The music is a cross between classical art songs and standard Broadway fare. Perhaps most enjoyable are the tracks sung by Audra McDonald, some of which were previously released on her first solo album, Way Back to Paradise, but which were supplimented with some additional tracks that really suit her dramatic voice and extensive range. Two other highlights include "Afternoon on a Hill", "Souvenir", and "Once I Was", which demostrate clever writing on the part of the composer, as well as true understanding of the texts on the part of the performers...I feel that Mr. Guettel performs well on this disc. It may appear that he does not have the vocal ... Read More: Rating: - Don't Walk, run ...run ...run ...to your storesA huge fan of Donald Katz's "Home Fires" in which Mr. Gordan and his family are the central characters in a moving biographical tribute to an American Family, I have followed the story of this talent ever since. What I have to say of this incredible cd is nothing less then INCREDIBLE. Though there are some major comparisons to the likes of Stephan Sondheim, I am sure Mr. Gordan does not mind in the lease, but in the ened, he is all his own. Do not walk to get this cd, run to get it ....run like there is a wild fire following you to your nearest cd store ....If you don't love it, if you aren't moved by every lyric and strong and chord, then all I can say is, your not a real musical theater fanatic. Rating:  - Where did all the decent singers go?It is such a tragedy that such beautiful music such as this CD is ruined by inadequate singing on behalf of the performers. There is ONE exception to this, of course, and that being Audra McDonald. Darius De Haas and Theresa McCarthy are both excellent musicians in an artistic sense, but they lack any sort of vocal substanance needed to carry off these difficult songs. Unsupported and in need of clarity are how I would describe their performances. Dawn Upshaw must posses some of the most glorious high notes ever to be heard, unfortunately, she swoops and scoops all over the place and manipultes her vowels in such a way as to distract the listener. Since when did this become acceptable? Adam Guettel is not a singer and I never understood why ... Read More: |
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