Emily & Sue
Adhyâropa, 2023
8/10
An a cappella pop opera from the Los Angeles composer Dana Kaufman and the librettist Aiden K. Feltkamp, this very creative body of work explores the relationship between the poet Emily Dickinson and her sister-in-law Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson.
“The Homestead” opens with the warm, harmonic voices erupting into loud bursts of wordless singing, and “Amherst dusk” follows with pretty, dreamy vocal work that hits some pretty high notes.
Further along, “Sue's letter, Part I” and “Sue's letter, Part II” brings soaring text into the melodic backdrop, as well as percussive sounds, while “An altered look about the hills” emits richly layered and powerful, stunning singing from the album’s best.
Approaching the end, “Amherst dawn” is particularly intimate, and blends the emotive and stirring voices sublimely, and “After great pain, a formal feeling comes” exits with soft and firm gestures of vocal acrobatics.
Along for the experience is Jasmine Muhammad (Emily Dickinson), and the Iris Vocal Trio, i.e. Dara Gallagher (Sue), David Rowen and Andrew Kim, and together they make for a very unique and interesting listen that touches on isolation, queerness, and forbidden love.
Travels well with: EFG Trio- Transliminal Rites; Clocks In Motion- Oneira